The Night Before
by IBD Ninja
Summary: Henry loves his job as Kid Danger. The fame, nine bucks an hour, an amazing superpower and his awesome friends, including the superhero he works for all make the danger he puts himself in worth it. But Henry soon finds himself taking on more than he can handle- without Captain Man by his side. He wants to ask for help... except he can't seem to remember.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure," whispered a voice, filled with concern, "that this is safe?"

"It should be," replied a second, lower and more certain voice. "This place was always well locked up by now. No reason that should've changed."

Armed with black flashlights that produced a red beam, the pair of people creeped through the building they knew so well- even if it had been a few years since they were last anywhere near it.

They had been busy paying off debt. Debt to society, that is. Prison time in Swelliew's jail.

"What if..." the first voice started. The sentence wasn't finished.

The second person didn't acknowledge the uncompleted question. "The extra key should be above the door."

One person aimed their flashlight up. The other reached, and, after a moment of searching, clutched an extra key and put it in the lock.

Knowing that slowly meant squeaky, the person that the second voice belonged to swing the door open, the other person catching it right before the knob could smack into the wall. Their flashlights helped them examine the room.

"This brings back memories," said the first voice, both sarcastically and sincerely. The pair spent numerous hours in this building, either plotting, executing, or faking.

"Hello, old friend," said the second voice, shining his flashlight onto the control board that he knew so well. "Ready to help us out again?"

"Yes," breathed the first voice, making the second person jump. "Not funny!" Person 2 exclaimed, smacking her arm. Person 1 smirked.

"Just start packing," grumbled the second voice. "The last thing we need is to get caught."

Person 1's smirk disappeared, even if neither of them could see it, their flashlights being on all the surrounding equipment.

"This is going to take a few trips," said the first voice.

"I don't care," the second voice said, growing bitter. "You know what the goal is."

"Yes I do." Person 1 stopped packing. "Those two sorry excuses for superheroes."

"Technically, one of them is a sidekick."

"Whatever." The first person resumed their work. "I still hate them."

"Yeah."

A few silent minutes of packing equipment passed before Person 2 spoke again. "Let's get this down to the van and come back."

"Yeah," the first person agreed. Then, "I can't wait."

"Me, neither."

The first person's face was almost visible in the moonlight that was leaking through the curtain of the front door window. "We're coming for you, Captain Man and Kid Danger."

Miles away, in the same city, Kid Danger's alter ego was waking up in his bed at his home.

* * *

Henry sat up, gasping. He had been having a dream- no, a nightmare- that caused him to wake up covered in sweat. He wasn't sure what it was about, but the relief of knowing it wasn't real was washing over him. He felt a cool breeze; his window was open. _I must have forgotten to close it._

Henry looked over at his phone. It was one-thirty in the morning. He yawned, stretching to get back to sleep.

The thought of getting some shut-eye was rudely interrupted by his watch, which started beeping three times.

It wasn't the beeping itself that made Henry really wake up; it was the knowledge that a triple beep meant there was an emergency. True, Ray had triple beeped him for non-emergency situations before, but better to be safe than sorry.

"What's going on?" Henry asked as he opened up with watch. Captain Man was staring back at him.

"Henry, I need your help."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out." Henry reached behind him and closed his hand around his gumball tube. "What's happening?" Henry asked as he popped a gumball into his mouth.

"Jeff is at the park."

Henry almost spit out his gum. "Wha- seriously?! That's it?!"

"Come on, Henry. I don't wanna go alone! I'll be bored!"

Henry sighed. "Fine. Where are you right now?"

"Hiya, Henry!" Captain Man stuck his head in the window.

"Ahh!" Henry jumped and kind of rolled off the bed, tangled in his sheet and quilt.

"Shhh!" Captain Man shushed him. "Don't wake your family!"

"Please, they could sleep through a hurricane," said Henry as he struggled to get up. "You were in the tree?!"

"Yeah, I sorta realized that I forgot to call you, but I had to pass your house, anyway." Captain Man shrugged before laughing at the look on Henry's face. "Blow your bubble, Kid."

Having finally escaped from the sheets and blankets trap, Henry stood up and took the stance he was usually in when transforming into Kid Danger; Charlotte, his best friend, had started referring to it as the "Ego Pose" because, well, the stance speaks for itself.

Henry chewed his gum a little more and blew. Lights engulfed him as he became Kid Danger, superhero sidekick to Captain Man. Grabbing his cell phone, Kid Danger followed Captain Man out the window.

_Off to save the world, _he thought, _from the universe's most idiotic excuse for a villian._

* * *

Person 1 and Person 2 had just finished their work when they both got a chill up their spines. They both looked around.

"Did you feel that?" Person 2 shined his flashlight around.

"Yeah," said Person 1, doing the same. "What's happening?"

They both stood still for a short moment. That moment turned into a solid minute.

"Do you think…?" Person 1, once again, was unable to finish her sentence.

Person 2, however, knew what she was trying to ask. "Don't worry, sis. He can't do anything to us. We're legal adults now."

"Don't call me 'sis'," said Person 1 automatically. "But that also means we're in our own."

It had been long enough since their initial arrest that the two trouble making teens had become legal adults. They hadn't grown all that much physically, and their mental age… well, that hadn't changed much for them, either.

The two spent most of their time in prison thinking. Not reflecting on what they could've done to be better citizens, like they were told to, but constantly playing the "If Only" game. As in, "If only we hadn't stayed at the studio..." and "If only we didn't have to stop for gas…." Things that could've happened that wouldn't result in them getting caught.

They also spent a lot of time plotting. More specifically, coming up with scemes to get even with Captain Man and Kid Danger. Most of their little plans were incredibly stupid, but it's not like they ever got a chance to carry them out. The worst thing they had done while in prison was starting a food fight. Twice.

"Let's go," said Person 1. "They'll be expecting us."

"Right." Person 2 went straight for the driver's seat. They had argued for five minutes before agreeing that she would drive there and he would drive back.

As they opened the doors, the lights inside their van- their precious van, the only thing from their old life they still had- lit up. Even though they killed the lights immediately, anyone passing by could have identified them.

But no one was around to watch Derek and Maddy Richards speed away.

* * *

***Henry Danger villian voice* I hath returned! **

***Normal voice* Hey, everybody! New story here as promised. :)**

**So, as far as the setting goes, I am placing this story in the time between "Up the Stairs!" and "Danger Things" because, well, reasons.**

**As always, spoiler warning, even episodes beyond "Up the Stairs" may be referenced or hinted at, so read at your own risk!**

**Which reminds me, this story has no relation to the previous two I have written. Shoutout to ****PicassoPenguin for asking about that in a review for _Dream Busted _because I hadn't thought to mention that. :)**

**Also, I realize it's been a while since we've seen Derek and Maddy, so, just to recap, they were the trouble making teens from "Spin and Win" on _Let's Make A Steal_. (Ah, memories.)**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Where," said a impatient high male voice, "could Dylan and Mackey possibly be?"

"Derek and Maddy," a lower second voice corrected. She was looking at him, but the room was too dim for him to see her rolling her eyes.

"Whatever," the first voice grumbled, growing less patient by the minute. "They should have been back by now."

Just then, their computer beeped. The person whom the second voice belonged to rushed over, her face lit up by the screen. Squinting, she moved her hands over the keyboard.

"It's them," she said to her colleague. There was a pause.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Let them in!"

"You said to wait until you said so." She rolled her eyes again.

"Shut up!" He took a moment to collect himself as she allowed Derek and Maddy's van to pass through the front "gate" that surrounded the lair. "Have we found them yet?" The "them" he was referring to wasn't Derek and Maddy anymore.

"No." She knew who he was talking about. "Wait- ah, there they are."

"Where?!" He rushed up to the computer.

"Swellview Park. Looks like they're moving towards the playground."

He smiled. "Good."

The sound of van doors slamming almost startled them. "Go fetch Dawn and Mia," he said, gesturing towards the door.

"Derek and Maddy."

"_Whatever_," the first voice had more patience than he did right before then, but he was losing it again. "Just bring them in. I'll bet they'll want to see this."

* * *

"In conclusion, the American Shorthair cat-" Kid Danger looked over and finally realized his boss wasn't listening. "The American Shorthair cat voyaged to America on the Mayflower and brought the plague to Christopher Columbus."

"Yeah, yeah that sounds about right," Captain Man said, not really focused.

"Dude!" Kid Danger managed to startle his boss into looking at him. "I just recited my entire report for tomorrow and you weren't paying the slightest amount of attention."

"What? Pfffff. Yes I was."

"Oh, really?" Kid Danger stopped walking, and so did Captain Man. "What was my report about?"

"Uhhhh… something about bald dogs on the June Rose."

Kid Danger rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Ray. It's really important that I ace this report. Wasn't the whole point of bringing me along to not be bored?"

"I wanted someone to talk to, but you wouldn't shut up. Now I know why you seemed to be giving a speech." Kid Danger rolled his eyes at his boss again. "But something is bothering me."

"What?" Kid Danger looked around. A big, shiny beetle was staring at him, but nothing seemed out of place. He had just raised his arm to smack the bug when he heard Captain Man groan.

Which meant they had found Jeff.

Jeff, the stupidest of idiots, was playing in the sandcastle.

"Dude, this isn't even a crime," Kid Danger whispered to his boss before Jeff saw them.

"Yes if is." Captain Man pointed to a sign above the sandbox, lit by the moonlight. It read: _Sandbox_ _Houres: 8 A.M. to 8 P.M._

"They spelled 'hours' wrong," remarked Kid Danger. "But you've got a point."

Captain Man marched over to Jeff. "Alright, Jeff. What are you doing?"

"Playing," said Jeff, not realizing he was doing something wrong. "Whatchu guys doing here?"

"You're in the sandbox after hours." Kid Danger walked over and pointed to the sign.

"Oh, I didn't see that," said Jeff.

Captain Man and Kid Danger exchanged a look. Jeff was certainly stupid enough to miss a sign, but they weren't sure if he was telling the truth.

Finally, Captain Man sighed. "Jeff, just get up." Jeff, being Jeff, obeyed without a fight.

"And clean up your mess," added Kid Danger, glancing into the box. "Your- what are those, Lincoln Logs?"

"Uhh, I don't think those are Lincoln Logs," said Captain Man, peering into the box.

Kid Danger leaned over. "Then what- ew, Jeff!"

"That's disgusting."

"Gross."

Jeff grumbled. While he used a couple plastic bags that were floating around the playground to clean up his mess, Captain Man and Kid Danger hung back.

"So," said Kid Danger, "I still need to practice giving my report."

"Fine," said Captain Man. "Just wait until we get Jeff to the police station."

"Fine," said Kid Danger. Then he made a face. "Wait, why should I bother? You dropped out of school, like, before the sixth grade."

"I didn't _drop_ _out_, my dad pulled me out of school to become a superhero. Hey, I know!" Captain Man clapped his hands together. "You can drop outta school and train at the Man Cave full time, how 'bout that, huh?"

"No."

"C'mon, Kid, you know you want to!"

"Ray-" Kid Danger looked over at Jeff, who was somehow still cleaning, oblivious to what they were saying. He lowered his voice. "Ray, as much as I'd prefer to play ping pong with you or learn new fighting moves, I can't get away with dropping out of school. You know how my parents are about that." Mr. and Mrs. Hart (and Piper) were still oblivious to the fact that Henry was Kid Danger, but he had to keep his grades _up_ for them to stay _off_ his case.

"Yeah, you're right." Captain Man looked away from Jeff and at his sidekick. "You'd really rather play ping pong with me than go to school?"

"Yeah dude."

"Awww, that means a lot to me, bro." Kid Danger smiled as Captain Man looked back over at Jeff. "Are you done?"

"Yeah," said Jeff, holding out the bags. "Here."

"Gross!" Captain Man smacked his arm down, careful not to touch the bags. "Go throw those away- _in_ _the_ _trash_ _can_\- and come with us."

Neither Captain Man nor Kid Danger really felt like walking Jeff into the police station, but they got lucky. The guards were switching out and one of the extra ones did the job for them.

Kid Danger recited his report again on the way home, just for practice. Captain Man listened more than he had before, but something was still bugging him in the back of his head. He couldn't seem to shake it off.

"So," said Kid Danger as they pulled up to his house, "what was my report about?"

"American Shorthair cats," said Captain Man. That was the only fact about the report he was able to maintain. "Don't forget to transform back," he added as Kid Danger climbed out of the van.

"Oh, yeah." Kid Danger retrieved his gumball tube out of his pocket and popped one into his mouth. "See ya tomorrow!" He quietly ran to the other side of the house where his room was. After looking around for a second- _Man, there are a lot of bugs out tonight- _he blew a bubble and transformed.

Back in his pajamas, Henry shuffled over to his bed. The rush that always came with transforming faded away, and he fell asleep.

* * *

The voices didn't speak again until Captain Man and Kid Danger were out of the park area. This included Derek and Maddy, who kept their eyes and ears peeled for anything- _anything_\- that could help them.

"I'm surprised that Jack didn't mess up," said the first voice from earlier.

"Jeff," the second voice corrected. "You got it right before."

"The past is the past, my dear."

"Don't call me that."

The first voice scoffed, and the owner of the first voice turned to his young companions.

"You two, Draco and Malfoy-"

"Derek and Maddy."

"Whatever. Go to your rooms and rest up. We have a big day ahead of us!"

Rolling their eyes, Derek and Maddy left for the rooms they were given. They certainly were tired.

But still irritated. No matter how many times Nurse Cohort corrected him, Dr. Minyak wasn't going to get their names right anytime soon.

* * *

**Because who doesn't like making fun of Dr. Maniac? (_So_ disrespectful.)**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

***talking really fast* Okay: So it was brought to my attention that the first chapter of the story was replaced ****by the first chapter from Dream Busted, still don't know how that happened, I guess I must have selected the wrong document, but I went and fixed the issue as soon as I saw. Special thanks to LabGirl2001 and IlvNGTNSBFWFIYMHDisNickGirl for letting me know. :) :) On with the story!**

* * *

Henry has been positive that he was going to have trouble getting up for school that morning, but it turns out that rolling out of your bed and hitting the floor wakes you up pretty fast.

Crazy, right?

Anyway, Henry still had a few minutes before his alarm was supposed to wake him up, but since sleep was obviously a lost cause, he decided to just turn off the alarm and start getting ready.

But then his watch started beeping. Go figure. He slid it off his wrist and onto his "second floor" and picked up a shoe.

"What is Jeff doing this time, Ray?" That was how Henry greeted his boss that morning.

"I wish I could tell you, Kid. We've got a problem."

Henry abandoned his effort of trying to untie his knotted shoelaces, suddenly a little more awake and a lot more alert. "Why? What happened?"

"Jeff is gone. The cops found a big hole in his cell, like, five minutes ago. They just called and asked us to come check it out."

"Ray, I can't. I've got school." The alarm clock started beeping. Henry threw his shoe at it and it stopped. The shoe- his left one- bounced back and landed in front of his door. "I'd love to skip and help you, but I can't without my parents finding out."

"Which is why I called you. What time do you have lunch?"

"Uh, 11:50 to 12:35… ish. Why?"

"Okay, hold on." Ray hung up. Puzzled, Henry closed his watch and went to retrieve his shoe.

It was rather unfortunate timing that Piper barged in right as he was bending down to pick it up.

"Ow!" Hyper Motility notwithstanding, the door slammed right onto his head, in the same place a suitcase had hit him once. "Piper!"

Grasping his head, Henry looked up at his little sister. Even though it was barely seven A.M., she was fully dressed and looked ready to leave. (How does she _do_ that?) She was also looking down at him very impatiently.

"Piper, what the butt?" Henry slowly but surely straightened up, still clutching his head. "What was that for?"

"Where's my selfie stick?" How is it Piper can ask a simple question and still sound so _demanding_? Not to mention _threatening_.

"I don't have your-" Henry stopped short. _Well shoot._ He _did_ have Piper's selfie stick.

Confused? A few days ago, Charlotte was trying to get into Henry's room because she was trying to get her backpack, with had been left in there from that evening. The hiccup: it was the middle of the night because Henry had just gotten home from a mission that Charlotte was with him on. Meaning, in the Man Van, but anyway, Charlotte's backpack was in Henry's room from a brief study session that was cut off by Ray, and she couldn't go through the front door because Piper and a few girlfriends were having a sleepover down there. So, Henry "borrowed" Piper's selfie stick from her room to lower the backpack down to her. (Amazing now that stick was even strong enough- it's certainly a multipurpose tool.) Normally, Charlotte would've just climbed up the tree, but the first branch that they use had snapped under Henry's feet as he climbed, and she was too short to reach the next one.

Long story short, Henry had Piper's selfie stick.

"Aha!" Piper pointed to Henry's "second floor" where the stick was resting. "I knew it!" She retrieved it and started for the hallway, knocking Henry's watch over as she did so. Not to mention kicking his school bag.

"Watch it!" He bent over and picked the watch up up, keeping one hand on his head. "Why do you want that thing, anyway? I can't remember the last time you used it!"

"_Because_ Jasper came over and is asking for you, and it's _annoying_ me, so I'm going to _break his nose again_!"

_"What?" _Without thinking, Henry dropped the watch and reached over, grabbed the stick, throwing it over and out the window- way to quickly. Fortunately, Piper didn't see how fast it happened, just that her beloved selfie stick was out the window.

"_Henry_!" Piper cast him an angry look and practically leaped out the window to get it back.

"Watch out for the broken branch," muttered Henry. He loved his sister, and all, but he couldn't help smiling as he heard her hit the ground. (Don't worry, she was just fine, physically, even if she did yell "I am NOT OKAY!")

Henry finally pried his hand from his head. It still hurt a little, but there wasn't any blood. He ran downstairs to meet Jasper.

"Henry!" Henry almost fell down the stairs in surprise, having not expected to hear Jasper near-screaming his name.

"Jasper, it's not even 7:15 in the morning, what is it? And make it quick, Piper wants to break your nose again."

Unfazed by that last part, Jasper immediately started rambling. "What happened last night? Who was there? Did anyone get hurt?" In spite of working for/with them, Jasper sometimes got a _little_ hyper excited with Captain Man and Kid Danger. "Where was it? Was there fighting involved? Where's your watch?"

Henry looked down. "Crap, I must've left it upstairs." He started running again. Jasper followed with an "I'll come with you!"

Neither of them had expected to find Piper in there, holding Henry's beeping Wiz-Watch.

"Piper?!" A string of swear words coursing through his head, Henry reached for the watch, and she dodged. "Gimme that back!"

Piper (who, by the way, had found an alternate tree branch that hadn't been visible in the dark) ignored his request. "How do you make it stop beeping?" She inspected it from all angles.

Henry had to focus all his mental energy on not using his superpower when snatching it back. He held it behind his back and silenced it, ready to protect it from his crazy sister.

But there was no need, because Piper finally noticed Jasper and grabbed her selfie stick from behind her.

Luckily, Henry was able to grab and hold her long enough for him to run far enough away. Letting out a frustrated groan, she stomped out of Henry's room and slammed her door.

Welcome to the Hart House.

Henry looked at his watch, which he had dropped while controlling Piper. It was still closed, so Piper _probably_ hadn't opened it. The watch started beeping again.

"I'll explain what happened later," said Henry as he set it down again. "So?"

"What? Oh, right, okay, so as soon as you get to lunch, sneak out so you can go with me to inspect Jeff's cell. I said that we would be there at noon."

"How?"

"We're taking the Man Van."

"No, I mean how I am supposed to sneak out?"

"Oh. Yeah. Schwoz was looking at a map of your school, you can slip out through the auditorium."

"I also hacked into the school's database and found that no teachers or anyone would be around that area at that time, so you have a small window to get out," called a voice that Henry couldn't see. (It was Schwoz, obviously. He also called "It's me, Schwoz, from work!")

Henry nodded. "Okay, so what about getting back in?"

"I checked on that, too." In the Man Cave, Schwoz stepped into the camera range, waving enthusiastically. "They won't be around at the very end of your lunch period, either. So you're good!"

"Yeah, okay, do I get to eat lunch?"

"We'll bring you something from the Man Cave," said Ray. "Now go get ready, don't need teachers on your case for being late."

"Yeah." Henry flipped the watch watch closed and slipped it back on. He glanced at his alarm clock and over at his backpack, which, in all the action, got knocked over and everything spilled out of it, including a water bottle that was leaking. He was definitely going to run late.

Welcome to Henry's life.

* * *

***consulting list* Okay, chapter fiasco explanation, check.**

**Also, special thanks to PicassoPeinguin for the first review. :)**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Henry had managed to get to school on time, but only because he skipped breakfast and asked Charlotte to pick up something from the cafeteria lines for him. She discreetly passed him a package of Pop-Tarts before class, which Henry would have to hide from Ms. Shapen. Not because eating in her class is forbidden, but because she would take them and eat them herself. Loudly.

Ms. Shapen (who, by the way, somehow managed to teach different levels of history for the same class each year) was in a bad mood when she started class.

"Alright, you guys, I had a crappy date last night, so work on test corrections or whatever while I sue that crappy dating site." Only she didn't say "crappy" the second time, but whatever.

Ms. Shapen went around literally slapping test booklets on desks, starting with the class genius, who, of course, aced it. "How about you?" Charlotte asked Henry once their teacher slapped a test booklet onto his desk.

He took one look and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "Aw, geez, my parents are gonna kill me."

"Why?" Henry showed it to her. "Uh, Hen, that's not your test."

"What?" He looked at the name scribbled at the top: _Harold Kingsley._

Oops.

"Uh… Ms. Shapen?" Henry turned around in his desk. He knew this probably wasn't a very good idea, but he had no idea who Harold was.

"Yeah, what?!"

"Uh, this isn't my test." He held it out as she kind of stomped towards him. She sort of snatched it and held it on the air.

"Harold, you got a thirty-seven!" A bunch of students giggled as she chucked it across the room. Poor Harold looked really embarrassed as he picked up the purple crayon he dropped.

Ms. Shapen slapped another test booklet onto Henry's desk. This time, he looked at the name first.

"Cool, eighty-nine." He showed it to Charlotte, who said "Nice" and have him a high-five.

"Shut up," said Ms. Shapen as she crossed back to her desk.

Henry and Charlotte exchanged looks. That's when he remembered something. He mouthed _Phones_ to both her and Jasper and opened his own under his desk.

After double checking that Ms. Shapen wasn't looking, he texted his friends what he and Ray (oh, and Schwoz) had discussed that morning.

What followed:

_Charlotte: Got it._

_Jasper: Can I Come?_

_Henry: NO._

_Jasper: Are You Sure?_

_Henry: Yes, I am sure you are not going with us._

_Jasper: Awwwww_

_Charlotte: Get over it._

They all looked up. Ms. Shapen was still clueless.

_Henry: How do you guys think he escaped?_

_Charlotte: Well, you said there was a giant hole in the wall. What do you think?_

_Jasper: I Don't Know._

_Charlotte: I'm mentally face palming at you right now._

_Henry: What I meant was, how did that wall get there? Who made it? Why? Is someone helping him?_

_Jasper: That's A Lot Of Questions._

_Charlotte: I don't know, Henry. Dozens of villains had escaped that prison before. The hole may have been there already. Or Jeff anticipated getting caught and shoved a laser into his pocket._

_Henry: I don't think he's that smart, but that first one is a good theory._

_Jasper: Yeah._

The sudden sound of a chair screeching startled them, and they all (meaning Henry, Charlotte, Jasper and 97% of the class) instinctively hid their phones. But it was just Ms. Shapen adjusting her chair. She got back to her… uh, work, after a hearty "What are you guys lookin' at?"

The trio (etc.) got back to their texts.

_Charlotte: I don't have any other theories right now, I can't make a proper assessment until you guys have some evidence._

_Henry: I'll let you know what we find._

Henry looked at the time on his phone. He always looked forward to his lunch periods, but that was one of those days where it couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

Schwoz was right; the area he was planning to sneak out from was absolutely void of people, including staff members. Sneaking out of school was so easy, Henry was able to relax a little about sneaking back in.

The Man Van was parked about half a block away (to minimize attention from the school), and the first door Henry saw was the back door, so that's the one he tried first. He had expected it to be locked, but it wasn't, so he swung inside.

He certainly hadn't been expecting his tube of gumballs to come flying at him.

"Ow!" He rubbed the spot of his head where it hit, the same place that was in pain this morning. "What is this, give Henry a concussion day?"

"Sorry about that."

Henry looked up. "Who- Schwoz?"

"Yeah! From work!"

It took Henry a moment to recognize his friend. Schwoz was wearing all blacks- pants, shoes, and a button down shirt- and was wearing makeup. Not that much, but enough that it took a minute for Schwoz himself to recognize himself in the mirror. His long blonde hair was in a low braid and slicked back with gel-

_Wait- long blonde hair?_

"Uh… Schwoz, what's with the new look? Are those… _hair_ _extensions_?"

"He's coming with us," said Captain Man from the driver's seat. "Because all those fancy-smancy gadgets of his don't make sense to me. Only he and Charlotte understand them. Oh, and here's your lunch."

Captain Man tossed a plastic bag (that ban had been lifted, by the way) towards Henry, who noticed how light it was and peeked into it. "Uh, Ray, this bag is empty."

"Uh, yeah, I kind of ate it."

"Which I anticipated, so here," said Schwoz, holding up another bag. He handed it to a leaned-forward Henry, who gratefully discovered a grilled cheese sandwich, some plain Frittles and a bag of Skeeze-Its. Having always been a fast eater, he finished before they arrived at the jail, with enough time to transform.

* * *

Kid Danger climbed out of the van and stood next to Schwoz (who, by the way, had the disguise name of Sam and was carrying a small duffel bag) and Captain Man. A guard escorted them to the cell that Jeff had been in.

Captain Man talked to the guards who were on duty when Jeff escaped. "Sam" requested Kid Danger's assistance in investigating the hole.

"It's big" was what he initially said. "Like, Jeff-size."

"Good observation," said Schwoz sarcastically. He set his duffel bag onto the floor and dug something out of it.

"What is that?" Kid Danger thought it looked like a cross between a DS, a blaster and a rainbow. To be more specific, it had the body of a blaster and a screen at the end where lasers (et cetera) would come out, and was a rainbow of colors. Like pale tie-dye. Schwoz aimed it at the circle.

"Schwo-uhhhhh I mean Sam, what does that thing do?" Kid Danger asked, because, well, he had no idea.

"It tells me how old the cuts are; I have a theory. Here, help me out."

"Okay."

"Take it from me, hold it right there."

"Okay, now what?"

"Just hold it there until it beeps."

"Uh, okay, how long will that take?"

"A few minutes, probably five."

"Yay," muttered Kid Danger under his breath.

Most people wouldn't be able to stand holding that thing for very long, but years of being Kid Danger have built up the fibers in his arms, so they weren't very tired by the time the machine beeped.

"Okay, the data is being saved on the flash drive. As soon as it beeps again, safely remove it-" Schwoz/Sam taps the flash drive. "-and give it to me."

Kid Danger was starting to feel like he wasn't going to get to do much on this mission, but a quick glance at his phone confirmed that complaining meant not getting back to school on time, which meant getting caught.

So he did what he was told.

Captain Man spent the whole time talking with the cops and the guards, and Schwoz performed a number of tasks with Kid Danger's assistance. Eventually, both Schwoz and the superhero were satisfied with the information they got.

Kid Danger had about ten minutes to get back to school.

* * *

Henry sped behind some buildings to get back to the school. He glanced at his cell phone for a second before shoving it back in his pocket; Charlotte and Jasper knew he was on his way back and promised to let him know if anything happened that might get him caught.

Unfortunately, Henry didn't hear his phone buzzing as he ran.

* * *

***sings broadway songs loudly before noticing audience***

**Hiiiiiiii! So, anyone find the Easter Egg I planted? (Hint: it's in the first chunk of this chapter.)**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

He _did_, however, see the lines of students exiting the building.

_Shooooot. _Henry ducked behind a tree. He peeked after after a moment.

There were a bunch of students out by then; probably too many for him to sneak back in.

There was also a sound that he recognized but couldn't quite place. It was repetitive, high pitched and came in groups of three….

After looking around again, he finally spotted Charlotte and Jasper. Both of them appeared to be looking for him, too.

Henry slipped out from behind the tree and walked over as casually as possible to his friends. "What's going on?"

"Someone pulled the fire alarm," said Charlotte, her explanation enabling Henry to realize that the sound was the fire alarm going off. "I heard that it was Mitch."

"Don't know for sure, though," said Jasper, looking nervous. The schools in Swellview have a fire drill every now and then, but never during a lunch period. It probably _was_ Mitch. Henry made a mental note to not ever let Mitch anywhere near his house.

Henry looked over. He couldn't see smoke or anything. He looked back at his friends. "Since we're stuck out here," he said, plopping down on the grass, "I may as well tell you guys what happened."

Henry waved away a dragonfly, and glanced over his shoulder. No one seemed to have been paying attention, so he began telling them what had happened, speaking in a rushed, quiet voice.

"That's not much," said Charlotte after hearing the story.

"Why wouldn't they tell you?" That was Jasper.

"I already said, I don't know."

Charlotte opened her mouth to say something, but right then a few staff members began yelling for everyone to go back inside. Brushing the grass off their clothes, Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper did as they were told.

By the way, Mitch Bilsky was the one who set off the smoke detectors. After he used a match to light his dessert on fire.

* * *

"A dessert on fire?" Ray glanced up from the tablet he was looking at. "Isn't that some fancy restaurant thing?"

It was after school. Jasper was upstairs, doing his thing (eating junk food while waiting for the occasional customer to come in), Schwoz and Charlotte were running data (from earlier, to be more specific) and Henry was telling Ray about what happened when he reached the school.

"Yeah," said Henry in response to Ray's question. "But you still won't tell me about anything about earlier today." He glanced over at Charlotte and Schwoz. "How come _she_ gets to see?"

"Because," said Schowz pointedly, "Charlotte is the only one who will understand."

"Okay, that's true," Henry conceded. "But you guys are acting really secretive about it."

Something occurred to him. He wasn't being allowed to look at the scans, which was strange. _Come to think of it…. _"In fact," he said as he stood up, "you guys haven't let me see _anything_ recently."

It was true. The room was quiet for a moment. Charlotte and Schowz exchanged a look. Then they looked at Ray, who shrugged. "Guys, we really might as well tell him."

"Tell me what?" Henry asked suspiciously.

Charlotte looked back at Schwoz. "Pull it up." Nodding, he left to retrieve a TV screen. Charlotte turned her back to Henry and called at Jasper through the store cameras to come own. She then turned back to Henry. "Okay," she said, "we _have_ been acting a bit furtive about letting you see things recently."

"Yeah, no kidding." Henry decided not to add that the last time he was allowed to see anything was… actually, he wasn't even sure.

Schowz came back in with the TV just as Jasper arrived. _Even Jasper looks like he knows more than I do…. _Which hurt. Charlotte glanced back at the other two boys before turning back to Henry.

"Okay… so, do you remember the whole thing with Schwoz's Green Fingers disease?"

"How could I forget?" Henry shuddered at the thought. "Why?"

"So… you know how ever since then he does blood draws every now and then to make sure everything's alright?"

"Yeah." Henry's eyes went wide. "Do I-"

"No!" Charlotte cried when she saw the panic on his face. "No, well, not exactly."

"WHAT?!" Henry wasn't sure whether to be scared or furious. Schwoz's stupid disease had almost killed him once before and now _It's back?!_ "And you're just now mentioning this to me?!" _Wait. _"How long…." He wasn't sure how to phrase it.

"Only a couple of weeks," said Charlotte. Henry could tell that she felt really bad. "I really wanted to tell you, but Schwoz and Ray made me promise."

"It's okay," said Henry, even though he really wasn't sure. He changed the subject (more or less). "Can I see?"

Charlotte turned to Schowz. "Show him."

Nodding, Schwoz put an image up on the TV screen. It showed a sample of blood. "Henry, this is your blood from a month ago. And this," he switched the image, "is your last blood test."

The image looked roughly the same, but there were a few tiny (well, tiny as in smaller than the red blood cells) green things floating around. "That is the Green Finger virus. Now, luckily, we saw it before you started showing symptoms."

"So now what?"

"I have developed some more of the cure I made after drawing some blood from Jasper-"

"Which hurt like nobody's business," muttered Jasper. Schwoz ignored him.

"And I will give some to you now." Schowz produced a large needle and started walking towards Henry.

"Um, WHAT?" Henry couldn't help backing up a little. "Schwoz, why can't I just drink it like lasts time?"

"Because I believe it will work better if it goes straight into your bloodstream. Later, I have a special scanner that will tell us if there is anymore anywhere."

"Uh…" Henry hesitantly stuck out his left arm. Schwoz (who, thankfully, was very careful) slowly injected the liquid.

"Huh," said Henry when it was done. "That didn't actually hurt."

And it was at that _exact_ moment his left arm swung around and smacked his left (face) cheek. "Ow!" He looked at Schwoz, trying to hold his flailing arm with his right arm. "What the butt?!"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. You'll lose control of the arm that was the injection sight for a couple hours."

"Why didn't you-" (slap) "-tell me this-" (slap) "-before?!" More slapping. At this point, Charlotte and Jasper were helping hold his arm down.

"I forgot." Schwoz jumped out of the way as Henry's uncontrollable arm headed in his direction. "I have, to, uh, go…." Schwoz more or less ran to the secret door and exited the scene.

With help from Jasper and Charlotte (but mostly Charlotte) Ray was able to duct tape Henry's arm down to the table (over his shirt, so there wouldn't be any skin ripped off later- an interesting problem for an after school job employee to have.) Henry couldn't help but notice Ray trying not to laugh, but decided not to bring it up.

Instead, he asked about the hole in the wall.

* * *

**Hey y'all! So, first off, I hid an Easter Egg in the last chapter, I've decided to wait until the next update to give the answer. Speaking of the next update, having looked at my calendar, I most likely will not be able to post Chapter 6 until evening or night, so just letting y'all know. **

**PicassoPenguin: Thank you and (singing) your welcome! To answer the question, I try to have each chapter ready the day before.**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Schwoz finally came out of the secret room after making Henry pinky swear to not stay too mad at him. This didn't take very long, so within the next few minutes Schwoz and Charlotte were setting up for a bit of a presentation.

"Okay," Schwoz finally said. "So, I found that the cuts in the wall were not all the same age, but they were close- this is actually very interesting. Charlotte?"

Nodding, Charlotte used a tablet to pull up an image on the TV screen. To her and Schwoz, it was an interesting scientific theory being proven. To everyone else, it looked like some kind of painting.

"Okay," said Henry. "I do not understand this."

"Of course you don't," said Charlotte. She was serious enough that only her friends would be able to tell that she was just messing with him. "This is an circular image of the wall. The darker the color, the older that specific streak is." As she spoke, Charlotte pointed from a yellow streak to one that was almost black.

"What's funny," said Schwoz, "is that, at first glance, it looks so random, but if you look closer you can see how as it gets closer to the inside of the prison cell, the cuts generally become older, and it varies by side. Well, not _side_, because it's a circle, but you know what I'm saying. Anyway, this means that someone _on_ _the_ _outside_ was, over time, making this hole in the wall. And-" Schwoz paused to take a breath. "-these cuts were made over a period of a couple weeks."

"And they didn't get caught?" Ray gestured to the wall image in disbelief. "Two weeks of cutting through a _brick_ _wall_ at a _prison_ and they _didn't_ _get_ _caught_?"

"Apparently not," said Schwoz. "But they've decided to talk to the vice mayor about hiring more guards."

"And how's _that_ going?" Henry rolled his eyes as he remembered the _last_ time he had talked to the vice mayor.

"Eh, he is still whining about budget cuts, but at this point he's got multiple companies and private citizens wearing him down. At least we don't have to worry about our budget anymore."

"Says _you_," said Ray.

Sensing that an argument was about to break out, Henry loudly said "_Anyway!_" before anyone got hurt. "What does this tell us? We know that the hole was made over time, but we still don't know if someone is helping Jeff or what."

"Who would want to work with _Jeff_?" Charlotte spoke up. "I mean, remember the villain meeting with the Toddler and Max and everyone? They were clearly embarrassed by him."

"So what?" Jasper chimed in. "I mean, they're super villains. As long as they get what they want, why do they care?"

"Villains still have _feelings_. You saw how upset Dr. Minyak got that one time when I tried to sell him batteries."

"Wait, that was you?"

"As fun as remembering how I kicked Minyak's butt that day," interrupted Ray, "this is not getting us anywhere."

"Yeah, I did great, but that's not the point," agreed Henry. (Well, more or less.) He turned back to Schwoz. "Any chance you were able to find, like, DNA or something?"

"No, whoever did this was wearing gloves or something."

"'_Or_ _something_'? What else could it be?"

"I don't know, mittens?"

So at that point, Schwoz and Henry were arguing about why a villain would/would never wear mittens as opposed to gloves, and Jasper and Charlotte continued to argue about whether or not villains have feelings. Ray considered getting a bucket of popcorn and watching, but he decided against it. He started to open his mouth to get everyone's attention... but then decided it would be more fun to fire his laser on LOW and let it hit who it please.

Which ended up being Charlotte.

"Ow!" In response, Charlotte reached over and grabbed a stray laser, firing back. Ray retaliated, but not before Henry zapped him with his watch. Jasper and Schwoz found two more lasers and joined in.

Even though they were all a bit irritated with each other now, the laser fight became almost a game. They let their anger subside, and their arguments were forgotten.

* * *

They wouldn't have had such a fun time with the laser fight if they knew what was going on in the same city.

Derek hurled a baseball at his sister, who swung her bat and almost whacked the ball in her brother's face. Maddy had started hitting baseballs whenever she was mad (this was before they got arrested), and Derek adopted that same activity.

"It's been a long time since we've been able to do this," he remarked as he pitched again. Maddy swung with all her might and sent the ball flying; Derek ducked just in time. "Do you wanna pitch?"

"Nope," said Maddy, prepping for another ball. "I still have some people whose faces I need to imagine on those balls."

"Who is it this time?" Derek threw the ball and ducked in advance this time; the ball flew through the air, right where his head had been. He swallowed and stood back up.

"Everyone." Maddy didn't bring her bat back up. "Minyak, for one."

"Yeah. He may have given us… all this- the rooms, this gym, and parts in… well, you know." Derek and Maddy had to swear not to say anything, and even in there, the gym, they were keeping their promise. They were villains (more or less), but they knew they had to keep Minyak's trust... but that didn't stop them from gossiping about him to each other. "But I _do_ wish he'd get our names right."

"Yeah." Maddy's arms began to ache as she lifted her bat, but she was determined to keep going. Derek pitched another ball. "He's kind of annoying."

"Annoying, am I?"

Derek and Maddy jumped, and Maddy let go of the bat. It flew across the room and banged against the wall.

"Dr. Minyak!" Maddy squeaked. "We didn't- we were just-"

"Not to worry, Madison." Dr. Minyak smiled. "I just came in to deliver some good news."

Maddy was very tempted to correct him- Madison _was_ her real name, the real name that she hated- but her curiosity overwhelmed her. "What?"

"Heeeeeeeeeyyyy party people!" Derek, Maddy and Dr. Minyak watched Jeff barge into the gym and run towards them, waving his hands in the air like he just don't care. "I have retuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrnnned!"

Maddy looked back at Dr. Minyak. "This," She jabbed her thumb towards Jeff, who was panting from the run, "is supposed to be _good_ news?"

"Hey," panted Jeff, "I just got back, and I HAVE DECIDED, Jeff is going to get into shape! Got this whole big gym right here, and your old Jeffy boy is gonna lose some weight!" He pumped his fists in the air, causing his shirt to show his belly. Maddy shook her head in disgust.

"Does he _really_ need to be here?" Derek agreed with his sister's question and added, "Because I _really_ don't see any point."

"Now, children-"

"We are not _children_." Maddy took a threatening step towards Dr. Minyak, causing Derek to grab her arm and hiss at her to calm down.

"You saw his purpose yesterday; to get Captain Man and Kid Danger where we needed them.

"And besides," he watched Maddy give up on trying to break loose, "that isn't what I came to tell you." He looked over at Jeff and rolled his eyes; the, er, man, was struggling to lift a dumbbell bar… that had no weights on it. "Jeff, come here, please."

Grumbling, Jeff obeyed and stood next to Derek, who promptly scooted over, almost bumping into Maddy.

"Another member of our team has arrived," said Dr. Minyak with and evil smile.

There was a moment of silence before Maddy spoke. "Well, then where are they?"

* * *

**Hey, y'all! So, first, sorry again about having to post later in the day than usual, but, hey, I didn't think I'd actually be able to post until later, so cool!**

**Also, here is the Easter Egg from Chapter 4: "**Poor Harold looked really embarrassed as he picked up the purple crayon he dropped." **The reference is to _Harold and the Purple Crayon_, an old children's book.**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Why, he is in this room."

Derek and Maddy looked around the room. (Jeff was picking his nose.) No one.

"I don't see-" Maddy began, but cut herself off with a shriek when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

On instinct, both Derek and Maddy turned and threw a punch, but there wasn't anybody behind them.

"What the-" Maddy didn't get to swear because she was cut off again- only this time, by her brother.

"Derek?!" Maddy watched her brother seemingly slip on nothing and fall, clutching his sides and… _laughing?_

Maddy watched Derek lie there, squirm and call for help, but she had no idea why. Jeff, who had finally stopped picking his nose, didn't know either.

But Dr. Minyak did.

"Alright, Brad. That's enough, now."

_Brad. _Maddy racked her brain. _Where do I know that name?_

Derek felt some weight leave, and he immediately jumped up, his eyes wild. "What the butt was that?!" Only he didn't say _butt_, but whatever.

"Oh, that was just Brad saying hello."

"What?"

_Brad._ Maddy was the first one to put it together. "Wait… you mean, Brad? As in, _Invisible Brad?!_"

"That's me!" His voice seemed to come from nowhere. Everyone else jumped as Maddy squealed in surprise, excluding Minyak. Invisible Brad, another villain, had arrived. According time what Dr. Minyak has told Derek and Maddy, this meant they were one step closer to-

"Wait," said Maddy as something occurred to her. She had no idea where Brad was, so she turned to Dr. Minyak. "We've heard about him- isn't _he_ the guy who… who _knows_?"

_This could be a huge breakthrough, _thought Derek and Maddy. (Jeff had gone back to digging boogers out of his nose.)

Dr. Minyak frowned a little and opened his mouth, but Brad beat him to it. "I _did_. But the stuff they sprayed me with last time I saw those stupid superheroes and their little friends messed with my memory. I can't remember a dang thing- not their names, not where they live. Nothing."

Derek and Maddy both swore a little. _So much for _that_._

"Nonetheless," said Dr. Minyak, uselessly searching for Brad's shoulder to put his hand on, "Mr. Belcher here is still an important part of our team. He can, after all, snoop around unseen."

Derek and Maddy had to agree, but they certainly didn't like Brad all that much right then, especially considering the false excitement.

"Well, that's comforting," said Maddy sarcastically. "I just _love_ how he can sneak up on _us_ like that."

"Which," said Dr. Minyak, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his pockets, "is why he'll be wearing these." He held out the glasses, unsure of where Brad was.

They were snatched out of his hand and seemed to float in midair. "You do realize," said Brad's disembodied voice, "that once I wear something too long, it'll become invisible too, right?"

No one was sure why, but that's how it worked- Brad could put on a sparkling wedding dress and it would seemingly disappear after a few hours.

"Oh, Bradley-"

"Don't call me that."

"These are not," Dr. Minyak continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "as you seem to think, just a normal pair of sunglasses… well, actually, they are, but listen. I have created a special spray that will coat any object I wish to be visible, as long as I have enough."

"Wait," said Brad as something occurred to him. "Does that mean-"

Dr. Minyak put a hand up. "I'm afraid I can't, Bradley. The spray will not work on things- or people- that are already invisible. Which reminds me, the glasses need to be sprayed every now and then, just once a day should do it. Now," he motioned toward the door, "Brad, you and I have some… _business_ to attend to." He turned to Derek and Maddy. "You two, keep playing your little game until I summon you."

Derek and Maddy watched the glasses follow Dr. Minyak out of the gym, which was certainly an interesting sight.

"Dang," said Maddy after a moment of silence. "I really thought we had made a breakthrough there."

"Me too," agreed Derek, knowing exactly what his sister was talking about.

If Brad hadn't lost the memories, they would know who exactly Captain Man and Kid Danger are, who works for them, where there hideout is… _it's just not right._

The two siblings were quiet for a moment. Then Derek mumbled, "So… is it my turn to bat yet?"

* * *

"And that is your mission," finished Dr. Minyak.

"Really?" Brad looked disappointed. (Not that anybody could tell.) "That's it? I don't get to fight? Or even just go go and slap them?"

"Believe me, Brad." Dr. Minyak smiles sadly. "I would absolutely _love_ to watch you beat the _heck_ out of them, watch them fall to the ground, see myself finally winning…" Dr. Minyak shook his head as of trying to physically shake away his daydream. "But, unfortunately, we can't. Straying from the plan is far too dangerous."

"Sometimes a plan- sometimes you don't _need_ a plan, you don't-"

Dr. Minyak our a hand up, effectively silencing Brad. (Who knew it was that easy?) "Again, Brad, I would love to sic you on them, but we can't. Even if they can't see you, it would be two against one-"

"But we have Derek and Maddy-"

"And I _realize_ that. But even if everyone was already here- and believe me, I wish they were- we still wouldn't win. You know as well as I do that Captain Man-"

"Is indestructible, I know. But I don't see why we can't just take care of his puny little sidekick-"

"Because our cover would be blown. Even if we _did_ succeed in taking down Kid Danger, Captain Man, or someone on his team, at least, is bound to figure out what's going on, which would make our job a lot harder." You could tell that Dr. Minyak was really starting to lose his patience. "We have to stick to the plan. We have Derek and Maddy's skills on our side, and, combined with my technology-"

"You mean the technology that you haven't used in years?"

"I've told you, I can't remember a thing from that day, so they must have done something to our memories, but I found old plans, and managed to piece everything together. Look, I am trying _really_ hard to be content with having to wait so long, and your whining is _not helping. We are sticking to the plan._" Dr. Minyak took a moment to breathe. "Brad, _please_ go fetch Derek, Maddy, and Jeff and bring them here. I have another announcement."

* * *

**I... I just have no words right now.**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

The laser fight finally died down after a few minutes. Everyone had set down their weapons (besides Henry, who had been using his watch) at the exact same time that, not too far away, Invisible Brad Belcher had scared Maddy and tickled Derek.

Not, of course, that they knew about it. Dr. Minyak had made sure that no one- not Captain Man, not Kid Danger, not anyone- would figure out that something was up. It required a lot of secrecy.

As much secrecy, in fact, as Henry's identity as Kid Danger; the two scenarios were oddly similar. Dr. Minyak was only giving information to the people who were involved with the plan, and only what they needed. Similarly, the only people who knew Kid Danger's identity were the people who work with him, with the exception of Love Muffin Gwen. Oh, and Drex, even if he lived among the dinosaurs now. Also the Game Shakers….

Okay, so Henry's Kid Danger identity isn't _quite as_ secretive as Dr. Minyak's plan. Either way, both of them were intending to keep everything as under the wraps as they could.

Intending.

At any rate, Henry and the gang had finally gotten back on track with their investigation of The Hole In The Wall.

Well, "back on track" might not be totally accurate. Mostly, they were guessing who might be behind it.

"Maybe Jeff _was_ acting on his own?" Henry finally said, tired of throwing random names out there.

"Could be," said Charlotte. "Maybe… maybe he's started his own crew, so he can bust out easily."

"Still, though," chimed in Ray, "I have a hard time believing anyone would willingly work for or even with him. Unless he bumped his head and his IQ shot up two hundred points."

"Probably not, because he seemed normal last night," Henry pointed out. "Normal for Jeff, anyway. Unless he also got a degree in acting."

"When was the last time we had to deal with him?" Schwoz asked.

"Last night."

"I meant before that, Henry."

"Oh. Yeah, totally knew that. Um…" Henry thought for a minute. "I think… I think the last time we saw Jeff was when we were stuck in those holes."

"At that old video store," added Captain Man. "Dang, that was a long time ago."

"Yeah."

"Long enough," said Charlotte, "for something to happen."

"Something as in what?" Ray couldn't imagine what Jeff could possibly do beyond, geez, maybe robbing a loose-security store.

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know."

They were silent until Schwoz spoke up again. "Well… it _has been_ a while. Maybe Jeff _was _able to find people."

"I still don't buy that Jeff could find henchmen." Ray rolled his eyes. "He's an idiot."

"Maybe it's a family business, or something," suggested Henry. "Heck, there could be a Jeff Jr. or two running around that we don't know about."

"Jesus Crust, I hope not." Ray shuddered. "_One_ Jeff is all I can handle without going _insane_."

"You're already insane," said Henry. Charlotte and Jasper giggled, and Schwoz almost choked on his own spit laughing.

"Har har, very funny," said Ray. "But seriously, guys, we need to figure out who's involved with this."

Talk about buzzkill- everyone stopped laughing.

"I think," said Charlotte, "that this is going to require a bit of spying."

"On who?"

"Jeff, Jasper."

"Oh."

"But we don't know where he is," said Ray. "The best we could do is keep an eye out for him."

"What about asking other people to look around for him?" Jasper suggested. "We could say that we think he's getting ready to rob a place, or something."

"That makes sense," said Ray.

"Yeah, but Jeff might find out and figure out we suspect him," Charlotte pointed out.

"True," said Ray. "I guess the only thing we _can _do then is be on alert."

"I have an idea," said Schwoz suddenly. He stood up and walked over to the monitors. "I'm been wanting to use this- I figured out a way to get the security cameras we have around Swellview can recognize a face."

"So if Jeff faces a camera it will alert us?" Henry asked.

"Exactly!" Schwoz made a few clicks. "Alright, if Jasper is spotted by our cameras, we'll know where he is."

"Did you just say Jasper?"

"No, I said Jeff."

"Um, I pretty sure I heard my name."

"No, I said-"

"Alright already!" Henry stepped between them. "Is there anything else we can do?"

Ray thought for a minute. "No, I guess not. You guys should head home, anyway. Let us know if you think of anything."

"'Kay."

"Got it."

"Alright."

Charlotte, Henry and Jasper headed for the elevator. They spent the walk home trying to come up with more theories without success.

If only they knew.

* * *

"That's _all he_ said? Just that he had another announcement?"

As Henry and his friends were walking home, Derek, Maddy, Brad and Jeff congregated in the room Dr. Minyak and Brad were fighting in earlier. Maddy kept pressuring Brad for more information about what Minyak wants going to tell them, but he doesn't have any.

"I told you, that's it. He wouldn't tell me anything else."

Maddy glared at Invisible Brad. At least, she was pretty sure she was, since they could all see the glasses floating in midair. "Are you sure? Because if it's something important enough that we had to come straight here, he should have come by now." She crossed her arms. "I don't trust you."

"And why is that?" Invisible Brad knew they couldn't tell, but he crossed his arms right back and took a step forward anyway; Maddy could hear that he was closer. "What have I done to _you_?"

"For starters, you snuck up on me earlier," she snapped. "Second, I don't trust anyone besides _him_." She jabbed her thumb at Derek, who nodded in agreement. Siblings sometimes had trust issues, but Derek and Maddy _had to_ trust each other back when they devoted their time and energy to stealing game show prizes. Even years later, they still felt that they could rely on each other.

"So what?" Brad said. "We're _all_ bad guys here, apparently. So why should _I _trust _you_?"

"All _we_ ever did was steal crap from people. _You _tried to bury Captain Man and Kid Danger _alive_. Does that not seem a little _extreme_ to you?"

"Exactly- you two are pathetic."

Maddy drew her arm back to throw a punch, but was distracted by the sound of a door opening and a pair of voices. Jeff, who had been watching Brad and Maddy bicker like it was a blockbuster movie, was the first to identify one voice as Dr. Minyak. They couldn't quite identify the second voice.

The door to the room swung open, and Dr. Maniac himself appeared in the doorway, barely visible in the small amount of light the red lightbuod overhead provided; the carpeted floor made his footsteps silent.

"Apologizes for the wait, there were a few… technical difficulties."

"_Technical_ _difficulties? _What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Maddy-"

"Don't _Maddy_ me!" Maddy snapped at her brother before turning back to Minyak; she was really starting to lose it. "_What do_ you want to tell us, _why did_ you take so long, and _who _is with you?!"

Dr. Minyak simply smiled and took a step to the side to reveal who was behind him.

When they saw who it was, Jeff raised his eyebrows, Maddy's jaw dropped, Derek took a step back, and Brad almost audibly gasped.

* * *

**Annnnnnnnd cliffhanger! Sorry, y'all! Anybody have any ideas who it is?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't just one; the doorway was crowded with people. Some taller, some shorter. Some of them looked rather young, about high school age, and some of them were older.

At the front stood a man who was clearly the leader; he was tall, had a beard and mustache, and wore a mask. He also had a symbol on the both sides of his neck.

He was Van Del, the leader of the Wall Dogs.

"Holy crap," said Maddy. "That's a lot."

"No kidding," added Derek.

As the Wall Dogs crowded into the room, Maddy was able to count them and came up with seven, eight when Van Del was included.

Dr. Minyak turned to the group. "Care to introduce yourselves?"

One of the Wall Dogs stepped forward. "Uh, hi, my name is Spray Z, and I-"

"We do not need to introduce ourselves," interrupted Van Del. Spray Z stepped back. "_Surely_ you know who we are." He eyed Derek, Maddy and Jeff. (He didn't notice the floating glasses, nor did the pack of Wall Dogs.)

"Um…." Maddy didn't want to be the one to say it. "We, um, we do not."

Van Del looked noticeably annoyed. "Wha- oh, okay, _fine_, I sup_pose_ we'll do introductions. _I_ am Van Del, leader of the Wall Dogs."

One by one, the others stepped up. Captain Man and Kid Danger might have been able to name a few from when the captured the gang; Spray Z was the one who wore the eyepatch, having had an unfortunate experience with a laser. Two Canz had the grey beanie and the snappy attitude. Beyonspray wore a pair of goggles over his beanie. Then there was T-Paint, and the others who had never been named. They were The Sprayer, PaintAbby, and Candace. The Wall Dogs still stood by their belief that they were artists, not criminals, but they hated Captian Man and Kid Danger enough that they were willing to join the cause. Plus, they didn't mind having to get violent.

"So you guys are the Wall Dogs," said Maddy once everyone had been named. "Kid Danger tricked you all and threw you in jail a few years ago, right?"

"Yeah," answered Spray Z.

"Not too long after you guys were thrown into the big house," spoke up Candace.

"Most of us were transferred for being... _uncooperative_ a few times," added PaintAbby, smirking as if being transferred was something to be proud of. "Saw you every now and then. Respect for the food fights, by the way."

"Thanks," said Maddy cautiously.

"So I assume you already know we're Derek and Maddy Richards," said Derek. "You guys know Jeff?"

"Of course," said Two Canz. "Everybody knows Jeff."

"Yeah, because I'm awesome."

"No, because you're lame."

"Ha!" Invisible Brad let out a giant laugh, causing everyone to jump, particularly the Wall Dogs. "Who was that?" T-Paint asked.

"Just me," said Brad. The Wall Dogs traced his voice and finally noticed the pair of glasses that seemed to be floating in midair. "Wassup, I'm Brad, and I hate Captain Man and Kid Danger. _Especially_ Kid Danger."

"Us too," said Candace cautiously. "It's because of that little-"

"As much as I'd love to stand here and insult Kid Dumpster," interrupted Minyak, "this is no time for trash talk. We finally have enough people here to move on to Phase Two."

The Wall Dogs and other chattered excitedly. Then Spray Z raised his hand. "Um, what exactly _is_ Phase Two?"

"Phase Two," said Minyak with a smile, "is what you are all getting up bright and early for. I will explain your assignments tomorrow."

There was collective groaning, but no one dared to complain. Dr. Minyak dismissed everyone, telling them to meet in the gym "not a second after seven."

Because who doesn't like getting up early?

* * *

"Piper, for the last time, I'm not doing it."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"BECAUSE WHY?!"

Henry hadn't been super happy to find that his parents decided to make him watch Piper when he got home do they could go out. Naturally, they're a pain in the butt to each other. It gets worse whenever someone wants something.

This time, it was Piper.

"Please, Henry?" Piper begged. "Don't you want to spend quality time with your baby sister?"

To clear things up, Piper had decided to start planning her costume for Halloween, even though there were still a few weeks to go. She wanted to go as a unicorn… except it only came as a two-person costume.

Figured it out yet?

"Piper, I am _not_ dressing up as a unicorn's butt for Halloween. Charlotte, Jasper and I are going as something together. Besides, you only want me to come so I can hold your stuff."

"You don't know that!"

"Uh, actually, yes, I do. _Besides_, weren't you thinking about going as a Fresno Girl Doll?"

"FINE." Piper stomped upstairs and slammed her door.

"Love you!" Henry called up.

"WHO CARES?!"

Henry rolled his eyes. Piper had fits all the time; he knew she'd cool down.

He grabbed to bowl of cereal he had been preparing for himself and headed for the couch, but stopped. Not because his parents would kill him if the couch got stained with milk, but because he was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of paranoia. He stopped and listened. Nothing.

Trying to shake off his nerves, he sat down next to his favorite pillow, the one with the dog, and was about to eat when the front door suddenly swung open.

"Ahh!" Henry jumped and some cereal milk went flying, narrowly missing the couch. He looked up at the door. "Charlotte?! Don't do that, you scared me!"

"Sorry," said Charlotte apologetically. "But I have to- wait, where's your family?"

"Piper's upstairs throwing a fit, and my parents went somewhere and are making me watch her. Why?"

"Come here." She practically shoved him down onto the couch, causing more milk to spill. Henry finally set it down on the coffee table and Charlotte began talking. "I just got a text from Schwoz, the cops found some stray hairs outside the prison."

"Okay…. So?"

"So he ran some tests on them and they belong to Jeff! We may have just found a huge clue- the hairs were found about a quarter mile South from the prison."

Henry finally put it together and snapped his fingers. "Which means we may have the general direction of where Jeff went!"

"Exactly!"

"Alright!"

"What are _you_ two so happy about?"

Henry and Charlotte jumped- they hadn't realized Piper was standing on the stairs.

_Shoot shoot shoot shoot._ "Nothing," said Charlotte, desperately trying to improvise. "Henry… just… got a grade back for an essay and did really well."

"Yeah," agreed Henry, who couldn't have come up with that excuse on his own. Seriously, they all needed to take improv classes, or something.

"Yeah, whatever." Piper rolled her eyes and, without another word, walked down, retrieved her phone from where she had left it, and went back upstairs.

"That was close," said Charlotte once she was gone.

"Yeah," agreed Henry.

Their excitement had faded, having temporarily been replaced by fear, and Charlotte left. Henry stayed downstairs in front of TV until his parents came home, and everyone in the neighborhood went to bed in peace.

Because, of course, they still had no idea what was growing under their noses.

* * *

**Guest: Actually, I almost _did_ bring in Drill Finger this week! **

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

Let's face it: more than likely, the general population of Swellview did not like waking up before the crack of dawn.

Needless to say, this also applies to Swellview's villains. Not one of them was overly enthusiastic about "not a second after seven," but they were definitely ready to finally, _finally _spring into action. It was the excitement of the plan that assisted everyone, from Derek and Maddy to Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort themselves, in the daunting (well, maybe not _daunting_) task of dragging their butts (and the rest of their body, of course) out of bed.

Not that everyone got there on time. A couple stray Wall Dogs walked in a few minutes after, but if Dr. Minyak was unhappy with them, he didn't show it.

"Are we all here?" He didn't wait for a response, as he had counted a few times. His gaze flickered, Just for a second, at the nearby wall clock: 7:03.

Dr. Minyak began explaining Part Two of his plan, Operation DCMAKDWEDMGP (because the formal name, Operation Destroy Captain Man and Kid Danger With Evil Dr. Minyak's Genius Plan was too long and unpopular) at 7:04. By 8:05, he had given the full explanation, using visual aid such as maps and sketches, went over meeting places, and even quizzed a few people whom he didn't think were listening.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Dr. Minyak asked once he finished explaining Part Two (post-quizzes).

Spray Z hesitated for a moment before raising his hand. "So, um, is anyone else coming? For this, I mean? Or just in general?"

"Yeah, I'd like Drill Finger to show up so I can paint his drill finger. That color is _so_ last season," added Candace. "And maybe a new mask, his is too-"

"This isn't the time to talk about fashion!" Van Del snapped at Candance. "You are _always like_ this! Besides, we need someone like Heather Bogart, who knows how to work around the rules-"

"Heather couldn't even get away with stealing a dang diamond that one time because of a little girl! Face it, guys, we need to get her back, we need-"

"Don't you dare say that little traitors name! She is dead to the Wall Dogs!"

"You people need to think outside your pack, we should find-"

"SILENCE!" Dr. Minyak certainly knows how to project his voice when he wants to. "And to answer the initial question, that is _not_ information you need to know. I've reached out to every Captain Man and Kid Danger hater I can think of- Drill Finger, the Phone Shark, Drex, who I couldn't even manage to contact-" (only Henry and the gang down in the Man Cave know what really happened to Drex, which involves a time machine and dinosaurs, so, obviously, Drex isn't going to show up) "-Steven Sharp, I've even gotten in contact with _the_ _Spoiler_, for Crust's sake, because I am doing _everything_ _I_ _freaking_ _can_ _for_ _this_ _operation_, and right now, WE HAVE WHO WE HAVE. DEAL WITH IT."

The room was pretty silent after that. No one even dared to say "Yes, sir" or anything like that.

"Good." Dr. Minyak took a deep breath to calm down. He paused as if waiting for something. "You don't sound very excited."

There certainly wasn't a concert crowd, but the villains made some noise. They whooped, whistled, and someone yelled "Let's get this bread!" Dr. Minyak let them scream for a minute, before he yelled, "Alright then!" He made his back a little straighter. "Let's go."

* * *

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper spent most of the school day texting about where Jeff could have possibly gone. Other than that, nothing happened.

Nothing that they knew of, really. Dr. Minyak's team spent _their _day getting ready; reviewing their parts, dry runs, stretching- one would think that they were getting ready for a play, but that _definitely_ wasn't the case.

Naturally, everyone was very impatient, wanting to move forward, but somehow, they made it to seven in the evening, right as Henry and the others were getting ready to knock off.

"Dang, right when I was about to leave." Henry said as he ran to answer the emergency call that came in. Ray and Charlotte followed, and Schwoz put down the blaster he had been fixing (don't ask why it was broken, there was a pig involved, and that's more information than necessary) and stood behind them.

A female voice was screeching on the other end. Say want you want about Derek, but he sure as heck can do voices.

Henry and Ray has to tell the "woman" to calm down a few times before Derek toned down the hysterics.

Only a few miles away, Derek read from the script that Candace was holding up for him. "I'm in an alley near Forth Street and there's a lot of really scary people here, I hid in a dumpster, please help!" The overdramatic sobbing wasn't part of the script, but, well, improvisation.

"Ma'am, please calm down, we'll be there shortly. Can you stay on the line?" Henry dug his gumball tube out of his pocket as Ray frantically searched for his.

"I don't know, I- OMG, I think they're getting closer!" Some of the other Wall Dogs were making background noise.

"Okay, ma'am, quiet down. We don't want them to find you. We're on our way."

Derek hung up before Henry could, and Henry popped a gumball into his mouth.

One pretty light show later, he was under the tubes, ready to go up… almost ready, actually.

"Ray! Hurry up!"

"I can't find my gum!"

"What?!" Charlotte, always the most concerned for the public's safety, looked furious. "Ray, I just gave it back to you!"

"What did you have it?!"

"Because you asked me to refill it!"

"Oh, for the love of- just borrow mine!" Kid Danger tossed his gum at Ray, who caught it, popped a gumball and chewed as fast as he could as he ran to to tubes. He was still chewing as they sailed up, but still called it with Henry.

"Up the tubes!"

"Urf ha hubes!"

* * *

**Apologies for posting later in the day than usual, hadn't realized that the chapter wasn't even finished yet... but hey, it's technically not late! **

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

Not only were Captain Man and Kid Danger great fighters, they also had amazing weapons, and an genius crew, _but_, on occasion, they were _definitely_ a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

Their trip to the alley was one of those times. The sped there in the Man Van, relying on luck to keep it going, as the gas tank, it turned out, was dangerously low. They arrived at the alley just before the engine was about to give out, and quickly but cautiously climbed out, taking out their lasers.

Their first clue that something was wrong should have been when they entered at the alley near Forth Street, as they said they would: it was almost completely deserted. There were no people, and only a small alley cat loomed nearby, its green eyes shining.

"Hello?" Kid Danger called out. "Captain Man and Kid Danger here. Hello?" The only response he got was the alley cat walking up to the pair and rubbing against his leg. He could see it more clearly now; the cat didn't look very old, and it's fur was black with some brown streaks, and there was a white circle surrounding its right eye. _This cat probably needs a home,_ Kid Danger thought. He used to always beg his parents for a pet. Kid Danger had just put his hand down so the cat could sniff it when there was an ominous bang from the other side of the alley, causing all three of them to jump. The cat scurried away to hide under a mess trash bin, and the superheroes pointed their lasers, fingers on the buttons to shoot.

There was a moment of silence. Neither superhero dropped their weapon, but they both looked around.

"Uh… hello?" Captain Man called. "Kid, we should, uh, probably head over there…."

"Um… yeah."

The pair slowly walked, creeped out by the foreboding alley. The only sounds now were their footsteps and the nearby traffic. About halfway to the other side, Kid Danger suddenly stopped.

"What?" Captain Man looked around. The alley was creepy as heck, yes, but they seemed to be alone. "Why'd you stop?"

Kid Danger scrunched up his face. "Something's wrong."

Captain Man waited for Kid Danger to keep talking. When he didn't, he said, "Well… what's wrong?"

"I… I don't know."

"Helpful." Captain Man rolled his eyes.

"Sorry." He stretched out the word, like it was spelled _Sar-Ree_. "Something is just bugging me, like, I know something isn't right, but I don't know what it is."

"Well _that's_ unfortunate. Maybe we should call the Man Cave; I bet Charlotte could figure it out." He snorted. "I mean, come on, she's a whole lot smarter than you."

"True," said Henry, not bothering to be offended, "but I don't think getting on the phone is the best course of action right now. I mean, it looks like those scary people are gone, and so is the lady who was on the phone… wait…." Kid Danger gasped. "Dumpster!"

"What?"

"She- she said she was hiding in a dumpster, but there isn't one! Just a trash can that's barely big enough for a cat!"

Captain Man finally realized that his sidekick was right; there wasn't a dumpster in sight. In fact, the trash can and a few pieces of litter were the only objects in the alley. The cat meowed, cautiously coming out from the trash bin and walking to sit by the superheroes.

Still, though, it didn't occur to Captain Man that something was actually very, very, wrong. "Are you sure we have the right alley?"

"Yeah, she said the alley near Forth Street, and the nearest alley besides this one is on the other side of town."

"So… what can this mean?"

"Probably that they cleaned out the place, but why would someone steal a dumpster? Or even rob an alley? I mean, this isn't exactly a department store."

"I don't know. Hey!" Captain Man snapped his fingers, looking thoughtful. "Maybe it _was_ Jeff. Maybe he really _did_ get a team together."

"Maybe, but I still have my doubts about Jeff finding a team, or henchmen, or whatever."

Captain Man sighed. He knew that theory was very unlikely. "Yeah, you and me both, Kid." Captain Man looked back up to where they had heard the bang. "I think we still need to investigate other there."

"Yeah." Kid Danger thought about walking behind his boss, but ended up right next to him as they slowly walked down the alley. After a minute or so, they reached the other end and peeked out. Nothing.

Well, actually, that's not true. They saw buildings, a few cars, a homeless guy with bandages covering half of his face- but nothing they thought was worth noting.

"Maybe it was the wind," suggested Kid Danger finally. "I guess some thing could have gotten knocked over and then blown away."

"Maybe." Captain Man wasn't sure about that, but it was a theory. Sure, theories aren't always right, but they aren't always wrong, either.

"Maybe we should split up," said Kid Danger after a pause. "You can search this area, and I'll look around the outside."

"Can we switch? This place is creepy."

"Yeah, well, you're indestructible. Besides, it was my idea."

"Uggggggggh, fine. Meet me back right here in a few minutes. And no sneaking up on me!"

"Of course not," said Kid Danger like he hadn't been planning on doing just that. He slipped out of the alley and headed west. Captain Man took out his phone to use as a flashlight and started searching for clues inside the alley.

A few feet away, the homeless man with the face bandages watched Kid Danger walk away from him. He reached into the one intact pocket of his black, torn up hoodie and pulled out a walkie talkie. He raised it to his lips and spoke in a low voice.

"Kid Danger and Captain Man have separated," said the disguised Spray Z. "Repeat, Kid Danger has left Captain Man and is headed west."

"Roger that." Maddy adjusted her headset and nodded to Derek, who started their van and drove toward where Kid Danger would end up. "We're on our way."

"Excellent." Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort were safely tucked away in their own van (What is it with villains and vans, anyway?), which was located in the opposite direction Kid Danger was going. "Are you following him?"

"Yeah, but he's about twenty or so feet in front of me. Candace?"

"He just passed by my window." Candace and PaintAbby were hiding in a nearby abandoned shop, armed with blasters and a pair of binoculars.

"I can still see him," added PaintAbby into their shared walkie talkie as she carefully peered out the window. "If he keeps walking, he'll meet right up with Derek and Maddy."

"I'm here too, you know." Two-Canz snapped. "In case you've forgotten, I'm fairly major to this mission."

"Which is why you should shut up and stay focused, or you will mess up and _ruin_ the mission." Dr. Minyak snapped right back at her.

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in ahhhhh there he is!"

"How far?!"

"About thirty feet…. Twenty five. Twenty four-"

"Stop counting and aim!"

Two Canz adjusted her own headset and raised her weapon: a small but useful dart gun.

"Remember, you've got one shot at this, so don't miss," said Dr. Minyak. "But no pressure."

"I know, I know." Two Canz watched Kid Danger as he cluelessly began to walk right passed the van, which was hidden in the shadows.

Kid Danger glanced over his shoulder, not seeing the van. He still had that nagging feeling, and no idea why.

Two Canz squinted, and rested her finger on the trigger. She took a deep breath, counted, and fired.

In the short time that the dart flew, Kid Danger could definitely avoid it. Dr. Minyak knew this, and that was why the element of surprise was so crucial, why Two Canz really only had one chance. Sure, she could shoot again- there were plenty of extra darts- but Kid Danger's Hyper Motility would enable him to dodge any flying projectile easily; everyone knew this, particularly after the whole Rock Box Dump thing.

In that split second between the firing of the dart and the initial impact (assuming that it actually hit him), the entire team of villains held their breath, waiting to hear from Two Canz, Derek and Maddy if she hit him.

* * *

***Cliffhanger doo doo doo doo doo doo cliffhanger doo doo d****oo doo doo doo cliffhanger ****doo doo doo doo doo doo cliffhanger.***

**How did I not get this idea before?**

**Okay, okay, sorry for annoying everybody. Couldn't resist... And now it's stuck in my head...**

**Ciao, and Happy Easter! And if you do not celebrate Easter, have a good day anyway. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

It all seemed to happen in slow motion.

By some stroke of luck, a piece of paper came flying through the wind, distracting Kid Danger and causing him to turn his head. The dart flew right past him, narrowly missing his ear.

It was close enough, however, that he felt the rush of air; Kid Danger whipped around and _finally_ noticed the van.

Derek and Maddy were glad they had decided to tint the windows before they left, because otherwise, Kid Danger would have immediately seen them. He didn't, thankfully for them, and just stared at the van for a moment before cautiously taking a step forward-

Before the force of a blaster knocked him down.

Kid Danger was _very_ lucky that the blaster couldn't do much other than knock someone a few feet in the air. He flew towards the van, crashing into it before hitting the ground; this little routine effectively knocked the wind out of him.

Five seconds ago, Kid Danger was, depending on how you look at it, alone. Without warning, every Wall Dog on the team (excepting Van Del) was on top of him.

Kid Danger hadn't done a very good job fighting them off the first time they meant. He had gotten much stronger and better at combat since then, but so had they. (Of course, it didn't help him much that he was kind of struggling to breathe.)

The Sprayer was the first once to reach him, knocking a fist into Kid Danger's stomach, making it even _harder_ for him to catch a breath. PaintAbby and Candace were faster runners and were next to arrive, happily helping The Sprayer hold him down. Less than a minute later, all the present Wall Dogs were more or less sitting on top of him.

Derek and Maddy finally came out of the van, followed by someone they could not see. However, they _could_ see the dart gun he was holding. The gun seemed to aim at Kid Danger by itself-

"Wait," said Maddy, holding up a hand in front of Invisible Brad. "He wants to be here." She turned to the Wall Dogs. "And let the guy _breathe_, will ya? We need him _alive_."

_Alive?! What the butt is going on?!_ Kid Danger was starting to breathe better again, but only because the Wall Dog sitting on top of his stomach- not that he could tell who it was- had moved.

Each of Henry's limbs were being pinned down by a one or two Wall Dogs (right arm- Beyonspray and T-Paint, left arm- PaintAbby and Two Canz, right leg- Spray Z and the Sprayer, left leg- Candace).

"Alive?!" Kid Danger finally choked out. "What the butt is going on here?!"

The Wall Dogs, Derek, Maddy and Invisible Brad just laughed. Kid Danger hoped that the laughing meant their guards were down, but we he tried to wiggle free, they just laughed some more and pushed down harder.

Except for Spray Z, who promptly smacked him across the face. A bruise started to form immediately.

"Try that again," said the graffiti artist threateningly, "and it will hurt so much more next time."

"Don't let your guard down," said a voice. Derek, Maddy and Brad turned around, and all the Wall Dogs looked up to discover that Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort had arrived. Kid Danger, recognizing the voice, tried to look up, too, but T-Paint and Two Canz both had a literal heavy hand on his forehead, keeping his head in contact with the pavement.

Dr. Minyak got as close to he could to Kid Danger, considering there were seven Wall Dogs crowded around him- eight, now that Van Del had finally crawled out of his hiding place (the sewer- he fell off the ladder climbing back up several times).

"Kid Dumpster," said Minyak, sneering. "I've got you right where I want you."

"It's _Danger_, Maniac. Quit being disrespectful. And what the heck" (not the word he used, but whatever) "do you want from me?"

Dr. Minyak simply smiled. "For me to know," he gestured to Brad, "and for you to forget."

"Forget?! What does-"

Only Kid Danger didn't get to finish his sentence, because a dart found a home in his forehead.

Not too far away, Captain Man had no idea what was happening to his sidekick.

Don't even ask how he didn't hear the fighting. Too absorbed in his own world, probably, thinking about random stuff.

Captain Man has a tendency to sometimes get distracted, and searching the alley was one of those times.

"Aren't you a pretty kitty?" He was sitting cross-legged on the ground as he scratched the alley cat's chin. "A very pretty kitty!"

Yep, the great Captain Man got distracted on his mission by a cat. It meowed at him and rubbed against his leg.

"Yes, you're such a pretty kitty!" The cat purred, obviously very happy.

"You know what? You need a name, don't cha? No collar, and someone _clearly_ hasn't been eating enough. Now, let's see…." He thought for a minute. "Cora? No, doesn't fit. Annable? Pretty, but that doesn't fit. Lacey is nice, too, but that would be awkward, naming you after my ex. Hmm… Cleo?" The cat meowed. "Cleo it is, then!" Captain Man brought Cleo closer to his face, and she purred some more.

"Yes, I'm going to introduce you to everyone in da Man Cave, Henry and Schwoz and-" Captain Man suddenly remembered where he was and set the cat down. "Henry… where is he?" He looked over his shoulders. No Kid Danger.

"Crap. C'mon, Cleo, let's go find him." Captain Man stood up, and Cleo stayed by his side as they walked to where the supers had split.

"Which way did he go again?" Captain Man looked down at Cleo. She looked both directions and stared west.

"Yeah, that was the way!" Captain Man half-walked, half-jogged west.

It finally became overly obvious that Kid Danger wasn't anywhere near the alley. Captain Man couldn't find him within a few miles any way from the alley, and he didn't pick up his phone. Captain Man finally started to really worry. Where was his sidekick?

Beginning to panic, Captain Man scooped up Cleo and ran to the Man Van. He started it, began to back out, and….

Go figure. The engine finally died.

Swearing ("Sorry, Cleo, Daddy shouldn't be using that kind of language."), Captain Man didn't see what else he could do, besides push the Man Van to the nearest gas station.

It didn't occur to him until after fifteen minutes of pushing for a whole five feet that he could run down there and come back with some gas.

Sure enough, a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

It seemed to take forever, but Captain Man (and Cleo!) finally made it back to the Man Cave. (Cleo seemed to enjoy the tubes… more or less.)

"There you are!" Charlotte was the only one down in the main area. "We- wait, where's Henry? Is that… a _cat_?"

Captain Man nodded. "Charlotte, this is Cleo." He held the cat up. "Cleo, this is Charlotte, she's very smart. Hold her." Captain Man practically shoved Cleo into Charlotte's arms and jogged to the monitors.

"Ray, why do you have a cat, and, more importantly, WHERE IS HENRY?" Charlotte knows how to stay calm in different kinds of emergencies, but Henry, out there, alone, without Captain Man? Yeah, he's gotten stronger, and all that, but that didn't mean Charlotte didn't worry about him. He was her best friend, after all.

"I don't know, I need to-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Charlotte almost dropped Cleo. "Whaddaya mean, you don't know?!"

"I mean, _I don't know!_ We split up, trying to look for clues, and all of a sudden he's gone!" Captain Man began triangulating Kid Danger's location, having replaced the tracker that the Wall Dogs watched Kid Danger himself shoot with a laser.

Unfortunately, they remembered that little trick. As Captain Man was trying to track down Henry, the Wall Dogs found the new tracker, a small light-up ball.

"Just like last time," said Two Canz. "Who's got the thing?"

"Allow me," said Dr. Minyak. He took the tracker and placed it in what looked like a cardboard box.

Because it _was_ a cardboard box. Inside the box, however, was a metallic device that- well, there's a lot of science involved, but basically it disables any kind of tracker or tracking device within a two feet radius.

"The signal!" Captain Man frantically tried to get the signal from the tracker back, but it was no use. Dr. Minyak's device worked like a charm.

"Did the tracker get destroyed again?" Charlotte found herself clutching Cleo for comfort.

"I dunno, but something's happened to it." Ray jumped out of the chair. "Get Schwoz down here and see if he can locate Henry."

"Wait!" Charlotte called. "Where are you going?!"

"To find him myself."

Captain Man sped up the tubes. Not too far away, Derek and Maddy's van, sped toward the hideout, the other van following closely behind.

With an unconscious, duct taped Kid Danger inside.

* * *

**Clifffffffffhaaaaaaaangeeeeeeer! Sorry, y'all! That be how it works 'round here!**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading! **


	13. Chapter 13

Kid Danger slowly started coming to. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes.

_Why is my uniform so sticky_? He poked at the adhesive that the duct tape had left on his clothes, not to mention his face. _Where am I…?_

Looking around wasn't much use. The room was totally dark, and although his vision was starting to adjust, there wasn't anything to see. Kid Danger ran his hand along the wall, trying to find a light switch.

Except the walls weren't walls at all; they were giant screens. Kid Danger felt around the whole room- he was in a room, he was sure if that much, and a small one at that- but couldn't find a light switch, a door, or even a window.

And all of a sudden, the screens glowed with a bright image. Squinting, he looked at it.

_Why does this look so familiar?_

Kid Danger jumped back. _Oh my God._ It was the same image that he had looked at when Derek and Maddy brainwashed him, all that time ago. _Is it…?_

Then a sound blared through speakers that had to be in invisible or very well hidden. It was a voice, rapping to a beat. Kid Danger was sure he recognized the voice, but couldn't place it.

Something about the music triggered his memory. _It sounds like… could it be?_

Kid Danger started breathing heavy. He was panicking, but at the same time, felt like he was… letting go. It had, he realized, something to do with the screens, the music, and the lyrics.

_Yo! Listen up, Kid._

_Yes, you, Kid Danger._

_I've got a job for you,_

_It a real game-changer!_

_When you're out of here,_

_This is what you do._

_Open up your ears._

_And do what Minyak tells ya to._

_Don't try to resist, _

_You're efforts are fruitless!_

_You're going to lose,_

_Because you're such a Rufus- I mean, doofus._

_We need you here, you're going to help us_

_Whether or not cha want to_

_Because we're in control_

_You do what you're told_

_Goodbye for now, but just remember _

_If you obey, it will be okay_

_But if you don't, _

_You'll be dismembered._

_Holler!_

Henry lost his mind at this point. Meaning, he wasn't in control of himself any more. He stood there, breathing normally.

And fully under Dr. Minyak's control.

* * *

"Not bad, Spray Z." Maddy glanced at him from her chair. "It seems to have worked."

Spray Z smiled. "Yeah, but who typed this thing? For some reason _doofus_ seems to have autocorrected to _Rufus_."

"And it's full proof." Dr. Minyak smiled, ignoring Spray Z's question (bet you no one can guess who wrote the lyrics). "Between my technology and yours, there is no _possible_ way for anyone but _us_ to release him!"

"Should we test it out or something?" Derek asked. "Like, can I make him slap himself?"

"Sure."

"Kid Danger," said Derek in his microphone. "Slap yourself."

Inside the room, which was now dark again (they were using infrared cameras), Kid Danger immediately raised his right palm and slapped himself across the face. His face showed no signs of pain; nor did his eyes, which were glowing red.

"Nice," said Derek. "Now what?"

Dr. Minyak smiled. "Whatever we want."

* * *

Captain Man coughed. The trash can he knocked over sent up a cloud of dirt and dust that found his eyes within seconds.

_Great, _he thought. _An hour of searching and I get dust to the face for my efforts._

Captain Man sank down on the nearby curb. If he wasn't worried about his sidekick before, he certainly was now.

Something about the whole situation seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't place it. He thought as hard as he could, but just couldn't remember. Finally, after whatseemes like forever, it was on the top of his tongue- _It was-_

_CRASH._

Captain Man jumped up and turned around. He could see that, a few yards away, a dumpster had gotten knocked over. A bunch of junk and stuff tumbled out of it, flying over the streets.

Naturally, being Captain Man meant dealing with criminals, litterbugs included. Truthfully, he really, really, didn't want to, especially considering that his sidekick was missing.

_At least, I hope he's not._

Not that there was really any reason to get his hopes up. Between Kid Danger disappearing and the signal cutting off, Captain Man was pretty certain that the word _missing_ was appropriate.

Slowly, Captain Man dragged himself toward where the dumpster had been knocked over. There was no one there.

_Great. Now I probably just let someone get away._ Grumbling, Captain Man heaved the dumpster back to it's normal standing position. He considered crawling into it just so he could shut out the world for a few minutes.

_No. Find Henry first, _then_ wallow in self-pity._

Although, Kid Danger missing was the sole reason that Captain Man was so unhappy in the first place, so….

Captain Man figured that he may as well- and really should- keep looking. Without realizing it, he wandered in the same direction the person who knocked over the dumpster had ran.

Captain Man was walking for a few minutes- by now, he had enlisted the help of a flashlight for areas the street lamps siding reach- looking for clues.

The flashlight didn't help him see the figure that had circled around and gotten behind him

Not immediately behind- a few yards. Far enough that the figure was almost nothing more than a shadow, with a few hints of color here and there. Captain Man waved his flashlight around in front of him, but it didn't occur to him to peek over his shoulder.

The figure slowly began inching closer. In the light, a boot was visible, a boot clearly intended for running around. There was a flash of a hand, a hand that was covered by a glove, mostly red, with a little black.

The figure stopped. It ducked behind a nearby street sign. Because someone told it too.

"Should we let him know it's him?" Maddy asked Dr. Minyak. They were in her and Derek's van, along with Derek himself and a couple of the Wall Dogs. Everyone else was spread out, except for Jeff, who was left in charge of "guarding the base" so he wouldn't mess up the mission. (Currently, he was walking around in a suit of armor made from foil and a stained that he found somewhere.)

Dr. Minyak shook his head. "Not yet. Remember, we want the element of surprise. If they start fighting _before_ Captain Man realizes it's him, then he's bound to notice during the fight, which will catch him off guard."

Derek nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense, and all, but shouldn't we have put him in something a little less… flashy?"

"Or sprayed him again," offered PaintAbby.

Dr. Minyak considered this. "Yes, I suppose you're right. We'll remember next time. How close is he?"

Maddy checked. "Far enough away he can get a running start."

Dr. Minyak nodded. "Good. Go ahead."

"Right." Maddy brought down her little microphone that was how she instructed Kid Danger on what to do. "Kid Danger."

Don't ask how Kid Danger is able to communicate with them. It's a lot of science, possibly a bit of magic, and that's all the explanation necessary.

Kid Danger grunted in response. Not near loud enough for Captain Man to hear, but Maddy could still identify it.

"On my count," she said, he mouth forming into an evil smile, "run, go and jump onto Captain Man's back, and attack." Kid Danger grunted again. "One." Kid Danger sank down into a runner's lunge. "Two." He took a deep breath in, then out. "Three."

* * *

**I accidentally hid an Easter Egg.**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading! **


	14. Chapter 14

Kid Danger's pounding footsteps are what make Captain Man tense up. But his speed- Kid Danger's, not Captain Man's- is what enabled him to take a running leap and successfully jump on his boss's back before Captain Man could fully turn around.

"Good! Hit him! Fight!" Maddy practically yelled into her microphone.

"Calm down, Mads," said Derek. "We have to stay on guard!"

"I know, I know, shut the-"

"Focus and watch!" Dr. Minyak cut her off sharply and put a finger to his ear piece. "Is everyone still in position?"

"You bet." That was Spray Z.

"Beyonspray here."

"And T-Paint!"

Everyone else called in. PaintAbby and Van Del were the only Wall Dogs in the van.

"Keep watching," instructed Dr. Minyak. "Be ready."

Captain Man had been all ready to hit back- and he did. He clawed at his opponent, unaware of who he was fighting.

Until he grabbed the person off his back and threw him to the ground.

"Kid Danger?!" No matter what, Captain Man would always recognize his sidekick. He dang near started swearing, but then, without warning, Kid Danger broke the stare they had been holding- glowing red eyes to blue ones- and slapped him clear across the face. Shocked, Captain Man could only stare at his sidekick, who then retreated back into an alley- the same one he and Captain Man had searched earlier- at Maddy's orders.

Expect, of course, Captain Man didn't know about Maddy. Or anyone else.

Captain Man finally said something- no need to disclose what it was- and ran after his sidekick, only to find him gone.

Except he wasn't. Gone, that is. He had used his speed to make a few sharp turns and, after some running, was now in the middle of a Wall Dog circle.

Like, an actual Wall Dog circle. Spray Z, Beyonspray, T-Paint, Candace, Two Canz and The Sprayer has surrounded him.

Well, actually, it was really more of a Wall Dog hexagon. (Believe it or not, there was a slight debate about while Minyak was explaining the plan- circle or hexagon.) But whatever shape it was, they had really only gathered around him in case something went wrong.

Slipping through a pair of Wall Dogs- T Paint and Candace- a seventh figure that no one could see grinned… but they could see the can it was holding.

Obviously, it was Invisible Brad.

"Kid Danger," said Maddy into her microphone, "stand still."

The last order. For that night, anyway.

Invisible Brad lifted the can up in front of Kid Danger's face. He smirked.

"I wish I could say I've been looking forward to this. But the _real_ fun comes later." Without waiting for a response (not that he was expecting one), Invisible Brad sprayed Kid Danger.

Everyone watched Kid Danger's red eyes close. They saw him sway a bit before falling to the ground. They stared at him.

"He's out cold," said Candace after a moment of silent staring. "Scram!"

All the circle/hexagon Wall Dogs- plus Invisible Brad- scattered to their respective places to hide out until they were to sneak back to the liar- it would be safer, Dr. Minyak insisted, to not have everyone go at once. (This had actually been Nurse Cohort's idea, but, naturally, Minyak stole it.) Everyone in the Van drive away to go straight back.

They all left Kid Danger there- all but one. T-Paint had been trusted with taking Kid Danger's tracker out of the box and back into his belt as fast as he could. Taking a deep breath, he did so, sprinting faster than anyone else had in order to get away, leaving Kid Danger unconscious.

Candace was right- he was knocked out. His eyes were closed, but, underneath the eyelids, his pupils had not the red glow and gone back to their normal brown.

The nighttime breeze messes with his hair, which, in spite of the gel, had gotten messed up already but the struggle with Captain Man.

_Captain Man!_

If Kid Danger were conscious, that would have been his next thought, followed by _Where is he?_ and _I need to find him._

As Kid Danger lie there, a frantic Captain Man was searching all over the general area for him, having thought of his own.

They were beyond _Where is he?_ and _I need to find him._ He'd been thinking those thoughts for awhile by that point. Now they were more along the lines of _What just happened?_

He and Kid Danger have fought before, but in way different circumstances. Sometimes they were fighting about something stupid, but those were verbal fights, maybe with lasers. They fought against each other in the Man Cave sometimes, but for training purposes. They had fought by the Swellview sign in order to trick the Wall Dogs that one time, but that had been a whole set up.

_Also- what makes him think he can fight me? I mean, yeah, I'm a good training partner, but that's because I can't be beat. This wasn't training, and it sure wasn't fake either- that was real. _

_Was it? Did he have to fake a fight? Holy- _Captain Man was beginning to panic as a bunch of imaginary scenarios ran through his head. _Oh, no, Henry was Kid-Danger-napped. Oh, God, Henry had to fake a fight for someone. Oh, sugar-honey-ice-tea, Henry actually turned against-_

_Don't you dare finish that thought, Ray! He wouldn't do that- just focus on finding him._

If Captain Man hadn't been raining before, he certainly was now. He whisper-shouted _Kid Danger, Where are you_, etc., not daring to raise his voice too much.

Amazing how three to five minutes can seem like five to six hours. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a flash of red caught Captain Man's eye as he ran past the spot Derek and Maddy's van had been.

"Kid?" Captain Man Dan over to where Kid Danger was lying. "Kid Danger?!"

Unsure if it would work or not, Captain Man smacked his face a couple times. Coincidentally, Kid Danger has started coming to right as he was getting smacked.

"Owwwww, cut that ouuuuuut."

"Kid? You okay?"

"I dunno, what happened?"

Captain Man started at his sidekick. "Whaddaya mean, 'What happened?'?! You disappeared on me and then tired to fight me!"

Kid Danger stared up at his boss. "What?"

Captain Man wasn't sure what was going on. "Wha- it happened, like, today!" A thought crossed his mind. "Did you hit your head, or something?" He finally noticed the bruise across Kid Danger's face. "Where'd the bruise come from? I didn't slap you _that_ hard."

Kid Danger shrugged. "I… I don't know."

"Okay, we are getting nowhere." Captain Man was trying to think when his cell phone rang, startling them both.

"What is it, Schwoz?"

"Hey, nice to hear from you too. Henry's signal came back."

"Yeah, and I'm sitting right next to him."

"Oh. Well, we found him, so that's good."

"Ray found him?" A voice in the background yelled, loud enough that it got Kid Danger's attention.

"Was that Charlotte?"

"Give me that!" Captain Man and Kid Danger heard Charlotte wrestle the phone away from Schwoz. Captain Man scooter closer to his sidekick so they could both hear her. "Henry, we've been trying to find you! Are you okay? What happened?"

"That's Kid Danger to you," said Henry, attempting to make a joke.

"Yeah, he's fine," said Charlotte, mostly to herself. She seemed to calm down a little. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, can I just come back to the Man Cave now?"

"Good idea- oh, and your parents think you fell asleep while cleaning the basement and I didn't want to wake you. Jasper called them to confirm it."

"Cool. Is he there?"

"No, he left, his mom wanted him home so he could help her with her foot medication."

"I did not need to know that."

"Me, neither," added Captain Man.

"Just come back." There was someone talking in the background. "Schwoz says that if you don't know what happened, check for suit for trackers or something to make sure no villains planted one, or something."

_Good God._ He hadn't thought of that. "Okay, I will. See you later."

"See ya."

"Can you stand?" Captain Man offered a hand to help his sidekick get up. He seemed steady… mostly.

Kid Danger patted down his suit and belt. "I think everything's there. Whatever happened, I didn't think it occurred to them to use a tracker.

"If there's a _them_ at all," he added quickly, getting nervous.

"Wait," said Captain Man. "What about your normal tracker? What if it got hacked or something?"

"I thought Schwoz said it couldn't be hacked." Kid Danger dug out his tracker, unaware of what it had gone through.

"Maybe we should destroy it," said Captain Man after a minute. "We have more that we can activate."

Kid Danger nodded. "Better safe than sorry, I guess." He dropped the ball and crushed it under his boot. He winced. "We should've let Schwoz and Charlotte know we were doing this."

"Yeah." Sure enough, Captain Man's phone rang again.

He answered with a curt "We'll explain later, we're both still here, we're coming" before hanging up.

"Where's the Man Van?" Kid Danger asked. His boss looked at him. "What?"

"The Man Van. We drove here in it."

"Uh… I sorta went back to the Man Cave to try and locate you and then just ran back here."

"Oh, great."

Captain Man and Kid Danger weren't exactly jazzed about walking, but, even though they didn't know it, they had a small victory: Dr. Minyak and his team hadn't thought about bugging his tracker, of his cell phone, and they hadn't noticed the Wiz Watch yet.

* * *

**Happy Mother's Day to any Moms out there!**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading! **

**P.S. Easter Egg. **


	15. Chapter 15

Dr. Minyak smiled down at everyone. "We," he began, "just beat them. And we got away with it."

"Everyone" meaning everyone who was on his team: Maddy, Invisible Brad, the Wall Dogs, all of them.

"Uh, Dr. Minyak?" Spray Z kind of raised his hand. "I'm glad we didn't get caught, and all, but I'm still not sure how we won. I mean, we left Kid Danger out, alone, but we haven't gained anything."

"False." Dr. Minyak waved his finger as if scolding him. "We spooked them. Captain Man and Kid Danger don't know what happened, or what will come next. Their own paranoia is one of our greatest weapons."

"Yeah, I get that," said Spray Z. "But I don't- why didn't-"

"Spit it _out_, dude!" Candace snapped. "What he is _trying_ to say is _why_ did we not do anything else? Look," she shoved her way through the relatively small crowd and stood in front of Dr. Minyak. "Look," she said again, "with all due respect, man, we were talking on the way back here, and this doesn't seem like enough. Six, and later seven, of us had Kid Danger surrounded, and he was completely under our control. And yet, for some reason, you repeatedly told us while explaining this plan of yours that we are _exclusively forbidden_ from pulling off his dang mask." _Dang_ wasn't the word she used, but it's close enough. "I don't see why knowing-"

"_WE CAN'T__._" Dr. Minyak said it so quietly but so forcefully- frankly, it was a little scary. He took a deep breath. _Control yourself, or we will blow it._ "I want to, Candace. I really, _really_ want to. But that kind of information is something that could ruin us. If we know, and they find out we know, they won't hesitate to make us forget." Everyone looked at him, a little puzzled. "The only reason we are able to go through with this mission is because, years ago, I had the foresight to write everything down- including the password for the security cameras in the shop I used as my liar. By some stroke of luck, I found it, and was able to look back at the recordings and figure out what happened. The footage was awful, as low quality as it could get, but using subtitles I managed to figure out what they had said to each other while there. They wiped our brains." Everyone looks genuinely horrified. "Yes! And because of my genius, I figured out everything. _Everything__._"

He didn't mention it- and neither did Nurse Cohort- out of embarrassment that this technically wasn't true. In the footage, the (crappy) automatic subtitles showed Captain Man saying something about Charlotte. Fortunately, Dr. Minyak couldn't find anything about being in Charlotte, North California. It didn't occur to him that Charlotte could be a person, and, hopefully, he would remain ignorant.

"Yes! _They wiped our brains. __They stole our memories. _Everything- we forgot everything we've ever done to them. It's a miracle we still knew how to tie our shoes. I still can't believe how lucky I was to be able to deduce what had happened. We can't risk knowing that information. Not," he added under his breath, "until they're gone."

* * *

"Okay, there's nothing to be concerned about in your suit. You can change back know." Schwoz tossed Kid Danger his gum tube.

They were down in the Man Cave. The first thing Schwoz did when they arrived back was scan Kid Danger- and Captain Man, just to be safe- for any kind of tracker or bugs. Luckily, their suits were clean.

Henry, glad to be out of his uniform after everything (he still didn't know what had happened, but it had exhausted him nonetheless), was ready to go home, but Schwoz stopped him. "Now what? You said my suit was clean."

"I know." Schwoz hit a few buttons on the device-detecting wand that he was using. "Now I want to make sure there aren't any under your skin."

"My skin?"

"Yeah," said Charlotte, who had been standing next to Henry pretty much since they got back, after screaming at him not to scare her like that. "We want to make sure they didn't inject you with a tracker, or anything else we need to worry about. That," she pointed to the wand, "is able to detect not only things like trackers, but also breaks on the epidermis. That means your skin," she added, seeing his confusing look.

"Uhhhhh, okay."

"Relax, Henry. If you haven't been feeling any pain, or feeling blood trickle down you, you're probably fine. Unless you scare me like that again-"

"Charlotte, I get it."

"-in which case you will be very, very hurt. Ready, Schwoz?"

"Yep." Schwoz started going through his routine again. He was almost done when the wand buzzed and glowed red.

"What? What is it?" Henry had been trying to keep calm, but, let's face it, he has no clue what happened to him, and Scwhoz's weird tracker tracker thing just buzzed. Who wouldn't be worried?

"Break on the skin." Schwoz looked up at Henry. "There's something wrong with the skin on your back, but we don't see any trackers or anything yet."

"Yet," Charlotte echoed. "That's a nice thought. Lift your shirt so we can check it out." Without waiting for a response, she lifted the back of Henry's shirt, revealing a small cut, and Schwoz hovered a new wand over it.

After a moment, it beeped. "You're good. You can go" Sighing in relief, Henry and Charlotte grabbed their bags and headed for the elevator. They were about to climb in when a sudden meow made them jump.

It was Cleo.

"Oh yeah!" Ray quickly walked over to wear Cleo had crawled out of the sprocket. Charlotte kind of rolled her eyes, and Henry and Schwoz just looked confused.

"Uh… Ray? Where did that come from? And has it meant my pig yet? We don't want any kind of sibling rivalry."

"Um, yeah, we'll get to that. Schwoz, this is Cleo. Found her in the alley. Poor thing needed a home, didn't you, Cleo?" Cleo meowed and licked Ray's face. He walked over to Schwoz. "Cleo, this is Schwoz. He's weird, but we keep him around because he knows how to fix things."

"Hey!"

"And you already meant Charlotte-"

"Yeah, 'cause you shoved her into my arms."

"And Henry was with me when we found you. Do you remember Henry?"

"What?"

One word. It was that one word- and the confusion in his tone- that made everyone worry. "What do you mean?" Ray asked.

"Where did this thing come from?" Henry looked equal parts confused and scared.

"Uh, dude, we found this thing in the alley. You let her sniff you. Or, at least, you tried, before something fell over. Don't you remember?"

"Uh… no."

"Henry?" Charlotte took a step towards him. "Are you okay?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, I thought I was, but…" he gestured to Cleo. "I don't remember anything about a cat. Actually…" he slowly lowered his hand. "Now that I think about it… I don't remember anything after driving in the Man Van with Ray."

Everyone stared at him. "Henry," said Ray slowly, "if you don't remember meeting this cat, or anything else, then something must have happened."

Henry looked just as scared as the others, if not more. "I- I don't know, I feel fine physically, I just- what _happened_?"

"Schwoz, go get your memory scanner thing. Henry, sit down." Charlotte dragged Henry to the couch when he didn't move, even though Ray had told him to him.

"I don't know what's going on with your brain, Kid." Ray looked really concerned. "Best-case scenario, you bonked your head somewhere. Worst-case scenario, someone did this on purpose somehow. But something definitely happened."

* * *

**"Okay, got this thing edited! Now I just need to hit Save- oh, hi, cat. Uh, please don't rub your head against the screen-**

**"Annnnnnnnd it's gone."**

**So basically that was my way of telling the story that my cat touched my phone and lost all my progress editing. Fortunately, I didn't need to retype everything, just copy and paste from where I originally type it all. Highly advise it.**

**Ciao, and Happy World IBD Day!**


	16. Chapter 16

Knowledge is power. It can be used.

Knowledge is dangerous. Knowing something can have severe consequences.

Knowledge is understanding, knowing what the heck was going on with Henry.

Knowledge is what they weren't sure they wanted, but definitely needed.

But they didn't get it.

"Nothing's coming up," said Schwoz. It was nearly one in the morning, and Schwoz hadn't been able to find any real information- after a _lot_ of testing. "It doesn't look like you hit your head, but I can't be sure."

"Great," said Ray. "Freaking great. It's 12:58 in the morning and we have no explanation."

"This isn't good," added Charlotte. She had only been able to stick around so late because both her parents were on business trips and would think she was asleep.

"No kidding." Ray started pacing around the room. "Henry, are you _sure _you don't remember anything. Absolutely positive?"

"As sure as I can be," said Henry nervously. Cleo jumped up onto the table Schwoz made him sit on, and Henry unconsciously started petting her. She would make a good emotional support animal.

"I can't seem to find anything," said Schwoz, basically repeating his last statement. "No major head injuries, nothing that could cause immediate memory loss- or delayed memory loss, for that matter- and no foreign pathogens in or around his head."

"So we're at a loss, then?"

"Yeah," said Schwoz in response to Ray's questions. "I can't think of anything else we can do, besides make sure he remembers other things."

"I do. I mean, I think I do," said Henry. "I can't remember anything since earlier today- or yesterday, at this point, I guess- but I can remember other stuff, like how Charlotte won the last spelling bee."

"Yeah, but that's obvious," said Charlotte. "Let's see- what's your dad's name?"

"Are you seriously quizzing me?"

"Yes, I am. What is your dad's name?"

"You know what his name is."

"I'm trying to make sure you remember stuff, Henry!" Charlotte kind of yelled. "What is his name?!"

"Okay, okay, it's Jake Hart."

"What were people dumping on their heads when they thought Kid Danger was going to die?"

"Rocks. Charlotte-"

"What's my last name?"

"Page. Charlotte-"

"Where are your-"

"Charlotte, I'm fine! Seriously. Schwoz can't find anything, and I can remember anything before tonight. I mean, obviously I would forget some stuff over time, if I heard that science lecture from last week right."

"Okay, okay, sorry."

"It's alright."

Charlotte finally sat down, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. Truth be told, she was just really concerned for her friend- or, rather, friends, since whatever happened to Henry impacted everyone else. "Is there anything else we should do here?"

"No, I suppose not," said Schwoz. "Go home and sleep. Maybe it will help."

"Maybe," said Henry. He remembered something about how sleep helps with memory, somehow, and figured he should really hit the sack. _Wait. _"Oh, wait, Charlotte, you said my parents thought I fell asleep here."

"Yeah, tell them you woke up and decided to come home."

"Oh. Yeah. Good idea."

Henry and Charlotte grabbed their stuff, and, after calling goodnight to Ray, Schwoz and Cleo (who had fallen asleep on the couch at this point), went up the elevator to Junk N' Stuff.

* * *

It seemed to take longer than usual, but Henry and Charlotte finally reached his house. Normally, Charlotte would keep walking until she got to her own house, which was nearby, but she couldn't help being creeped out. Henry noticed this, and offered to walk her home.

But first, they decided, they should run inside and grab a snack- because everything that had happened in the past few house had made them hungry.

But both of their stomachs dropped when Henry turned on the light downstairs and saw someone sitting on the couch.

"Piper?!" Charlotte barely managed to swallow a scream before spitting out the name. "What are you doing here?!"

Piper gave Charlotte a weird look from her spot on the couch. "Um, I live here. Did you forget?"

At the word _forget_, Henry and Charlotte both had to swallow. _She_ _has_ _no_ _idea how much I hate that word now._

Henry took a step forward and tossed his backpack onto the couch. "What she _means is_ _why are_ you up so late?"

"I have a better question." Piper set down her phone and stood up, crossing her arms. "If Charlotte saw you fall asleep at Junk N' Stuff and didn't want to wake you, what is she doing here? Because I would've thought she'd be home already. Plus, I see you two looking at each other like you both know something everyone else doesn't," she added, raising an eyebrow.

Henry and Charlotte automatically looked at each other, giving each other confused and concerned looks. They were both thinking the same thing: _Does_ _she_ _know?_

"Admit it, guys. I think know what's going on here." She took another step forward.

_Oh, my God, Piper knows, and Ray is going to wipe her brain._

Piper lowered her eyebrow. "You two are dating, aren't you?"

Henry and Charlotte weren't sure which to feel first, embarrassed or relieved. Charlotte recovered first. "Uh… y-yeah, you caught us," she stuttered.

"Uh… yeah." Henry took Charlotte's hand to be more convincing. "You got us."

"But please don't tell anyone," said Charlotte quickly. "We, uh, we're not ready for people to know just yet."

"Yeah. Sure. Come here." Piper grabbed Charlotte's free hand and dragged her over to the couch, causing Henry to let go in surprise. "Charlotte, first of all, I have to advise that you dump him."

"Hey!" (That was Henry.)

"No offense- to you, I mean- but Henry is disgusting. That said, I cannot remember you ever going on a date, and I feel that it is my duty to educate you on the proper ways to handle a man."

"Ummm, Piper, that's nice of you, and all- whoa, never thought I'd say that- but it's late, and I should get home."

"Of course. You will learn better from me if you're well rested. Go home, get some sleep." Piper more or less tossed Charlotte's stuff at her and then more or less out pushed her out the door, locking it behind her.

"Uh…" Charlotte knew she was going to hate this. "Okay, then. Night, you guys." She started to leave the porch when she remembered everything that had happened earlier and began to feel creeped out again.

"Really, Piper?" Henry gave his sister a look before starting for the door. Before he could get there, though, Piper grabbed his arm, squeezed it hard- _very hard_\- and said, "You break her heart, I break your face. Capisce?"

"Yeah, yeah, just let go." Henry yanked his arm away and went outside, grabbing Charlotte's hand and leading her away.

"Great," said Charlotte once they were off the porch. "Now we have to keep _this _up for who knows how long. And you can let go now."

"Sorry." Henry dropped her hand. "But I guess it could be worse."

Charlotte was tempted to ask what could make their situation worse, but decided against it. "Yeah, I guess so."

Henry looked at her. "Are you uncomfortable with Piper thinking we're dating? Because I can go home and say you decided to take her advice."

Charlotte smiled a little. "No. I mean, I'm not exactly thrilled with it, not anymore than when we lied to Jasper. But this may be what it takes for her to not suspect us next time we're out so late."

"That's true." They finally arrived at her house. "Night, Charlotte."

"Night, Hen."

Henry watched Charlotte until she was actually inside her house. Once she was gone, he realized that he was alone and could see why she didn't want to walk alone.

He jogged home, relieved as he shut the front door behind him and locked it. He was relieved partially because he was home, with other people (even if they were asleep), and partially because Piper wasn't around to threaten him about Charlotte. _It figures we have to go through all this again. Even if she is cute._

_Whoa. Where did _that_ come_ from? Henry shook his head as if trying to shake his thoughts away, and headed for the stairs. As he climbed, a wave of tiredness hit and he almost laced down right there. Even so, he made it to his bed before collapsing and falling asleep.

* * *

**I think this last part comes from me missing writing about Chenry. Seriously, can they happen already? Pretty please?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	17. Chapter 17

Henry tried his best to sleep, but it's hard for him to get enough rest when an alarm is set to wake him up for school. Not to mention how late he tends to stay out because of Kid Danger stuff.

Somehow, Henry dragged himself out of bed, dragged himself to the bathroom, dragged himself back to his room, and dragged himself through the first half of his morning routine. Normally, he'd have a bit more Friday Morning Energy, because, you know, weekend approaching, but he was drained.

As Henry walked downstairs, he could hear Piper's voice.

"Next, you want to make sure that he doesn't get too comfortable."

"Comfortable?" Henry recognized Charlotte's voice. He could see that they were sitting at the bar, with Piper's laptop.

"Make sure he doesn't feel like the relationship is going too well- he needs to know that other guys are going to be after you, so he becomes more devoted."

"That," said Henry, causing Piper and Charlotte to look over at him, "is the worst advice I have ever heard."

"Agreed," said Charlotte. She turned back to Piper. "Pipes, I really don't think I need this."

"Um, yes you do. I made a whole slideshow for you, so pay attention."

"Yeah, no. Let's go before we're late." Charlotte picked up her backpack, tossed a Pop-Tart package at Henry, who managed to catch it without his super fast reflexes, and they left.

"Your sister is insane," said Charlotte as they walked to school.

"Believe me, I know," said Henry as he adjusted his backpack. A dragonfly flew around his face, and he smacked it. Hearing footsteps, he turned around. "Hey, Jasper!"

"Hey Hen! Hey, Char. What happened last night?"

Of course he asked.

Henry gave him most of the story- he didn't mention Piper thinking that they were dating. He didn't need to think _that_ again.

The three teens finally arrived at school. The day proceeded, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Nothing that they knew about, anyway.

* * *

"Okay, how about 'Wall Dogs and Friends'?"

"Um, no way."

"Why?"

"First of all, we are not friends. Second, you people aren't leading this thing, Minyak is."

While Henry and then were still at school, somehow, the team of villains (minus Minyak) has congregated and we're trying to come up with a team name, like they were at summer camp, or something. They had been at it for awhile and had already ruled out:

"The Evils"

"Evil Crew"

"L.O.V.E. M.U.F.F.I.N."

Etc.

Spray Z was the one who suggested "Wall Dogs and Friends." Maddy was the first to reject it.

Nurse Cohort spoke up. "'Doctors and Nurses'?"

"That doesn't sound bad enough."

"'Evil Doctors and Nurses'?"

Obviously, they were not making very much progress. Beyonspray was offering up "The Bad Guys" when Dr. Minyak entered.

"First of all," he said loudly, announcing himself. The room went quiet, "you people come up with absolutely horrid names."

"So did your momma!" Someone called out, causing laughter to erupt throughout the room.

Dr. Minyak managed to ignore that comment… although he made a mental note to figure out who said it later. "Secondly, we are going out again tonight."

There were mixed reactions- some people groaned, whining that they were still too tired from last night, and others were elated.

"Before you get to excited," added Dr. Minyak, holding up a hand to silence the room, "we won't be attacking tonight."

Again, there were mixed reactions. Some people were glad for what sounded like an easy mission, and others were pouting that they wanted to cause permanent damage. "Or, at the very least, spray paint in his face" was what Two Canz said.

"Why," said Maddy finally, "are we not attacking?"

"Because," said Nurse Cohort in a _duh_ kind of tone, "we need them to let their guard down."

"They need to think something's wrong, but we can't push it," added Dr. Minyak.

"Yeah, you've said that before, but you won't tell us why!" Two Canz yelled from the crowd. "You won't tell us s-"

"Do I need to give another speech?" Minyak gave Two Canz a threatening look, and she backed off. "Everyone go to the same place we meant yesterday, but first, eat something. I don't want any grumbling stomachs to distract from my plan."

* * *

Henry was running a few feet ahead of Charlotte and Jasper during gym class. Not even because of his superpower- he's always been faster than them.

Charlotte was only a few feet behind her best friend, but Jasper was already exhausted and they were only on the first of four laps; he was covered in sweat.

The track at their school was oval-shaped; generally, the process was to run the straight sections and walk the curved sections. Henry was the first one to reach the curve, Charlotte was close behind, and Jasper finally caught up to them.

"Look alive, Dunlop!" Their gym teacher yelled from the other side of the track. Jasper groaned as Mitch Bilkey and his, er, friends laughed and pointed from the other side of the track.

"Buttheads," said Henry, trying to make his friend feel better.

Jasper kind of nodded, breathing heavily. "Yeah."

They let a few other kids pass them before continuing on the curve. "So then what happened?"

"I told you, we went home," said Henry. "Nothing else happened."

Henry and Charlotte had told Jasper what went down after he had to leave work approximately 8,324 times. Well, okay, maybe not that many. But he was definitely asking about it a lot- 8,346 times.

Or so.

Mercifully, Charlotte changed the subject. "Henry, don't forget you're getting another injection today."

"Fun." Henry's blood tests looked good, but Schwoz insisted on a continuous treatment plan to make sure it didn't come back. "Can't wait to lose use of my arm again."

"You didn't lose use of it, you lost control," said Charlotte, mostly teasing him.

"Yeah, but I'm the one donating blood for you," said Jasper, "So you're welcome." He looked at his friend. "Henry?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, spaced out for a second." It wasn't a lie- Henry kept losing his train of thought. In fact, so did Charlotte. And Ray. And Schwoz, and even Jasper.

They were worried.

And they didn't even know the whole truth.

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

"Do you not have enough from last time?"

"I do, but it's better fresh."

If there's one thing Jasper was grateful for, it's that Schwoz has stopped using that monster bloodsucker machine to take blood from him. Mercifully, he had started to use a normal needle, since he didn't need as much blood for one person as opposed to six in the whole Green Fingers episode.

"You're making his blood sound like food," remarked Charlotte, who was duct-taping Henry's arm to the Man Cave table; they figured it would be best to do it in advance this time.

"It's food for vampires." Schwoz said with a shrug in return. He looked at her. "Are you a vampire?"

"Um, no."

Schwoz still looked at her suspiciously, and so did Jasper. Charlotte rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like "Boys." They both looked back down.

"Can we just get this over with?" Henry really didn't mean to sound snappy, but he couldn't help it. The waiting was making him anxious- besides the fact that he didn't like shots in general- yeah, they're needed, and all, but they still hurt- he was not looking forward to losing control of his arm again. Plus, who knew what other side effects haven't made an appearance yet?

Henry couldn't help being a little paranoid, but that's what happens when you spend too much time around Schwoz.

What he should have been paranoid about, though, was Minyak's plan for that day. Henry had no idea that it was unfolding right as Schwoz was giving him the injection.

"Ow-!" Henry let a foul word slip as Schwoz's needle dug into his skin, the emergency alarm making everyone jump. Since his sidekick was duct-taped to the table, Ray ran to answer it.

"Captain Man and Kid Danger hotline, what is your emergency?"

Derek was voice acting again. (If he didn't insist on being a bad guy, he could make a career out of it. Voice acting, not being a bad guy.) This time, he was pretending to be a little kid. "Captain Man, help!"

"What's going on?"

"I'm at Becky's Ice Cream Palace, and some mean people came in, and I can't find my parents-"

"Okay, kid, calm down. Listen," He waved Henry over. Seeing this, Charlotte grabbed the nearby remote that could be used to move the couch and steered him over to the monitors (Henry found it weirdly fun), "where are you? Inside? Outside?"

"No, when the mean people came in a bunch of us were rushed into the back."

"Okay, kid- what's your name?"

"Uh… Jordan," said Derek, improvising.

"Okay, Jordan, Kid Danger is going to stay on the line with you, and I'm coming. Tell everyone to stay put, and stay quiet." Ray pulled out his gumballs and and put "Jordan" on mute for a second. "Henry, stay on the line with him until I give you the all clear. You're not going anywhere right now."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out." Henry's arm was starting to loosen the duct tape a little. Charlotte grabbed another roll- she would have to ask Schwoz where he got duct tape with cute little pigs on it- and started adding more, longer strips. Jasper saw this and helped.

Meanwhile, Ray chewed his gum, blew a bubble, and transformed, surrounded by lights until he became Captain Man. Henry couldn't help feeling a little left out- he hated watching Ray to and fight crime without him- but it would be a disaster with his flopping limb. He listened to Captain Man yell "Up the tubes!" and watched him disappear. _Focus now, feel left out later. _He turned his head back around and unmuted the hotline. "Okay, Jordan, Captain Man is on his way. Who else is with you?"

"Uh, just a few random people who were here. 'Couple employees."

"Alright, are you calling from your cell phone? Someone else's?"

"No, we had to grab the phone with the cord."

"Oh, you mean the… the…." He snapped his fingers and looked at Charlotte for help. She rolled her eyes and whispered, "Landline."

"Landline," said Henry, turning back to the monitors.

"Yeah, um, we had to drag the phone to the back room with us." Derek hadn't been expecting to have to stay on, so he improvised again. "Er, do you guys hear that?" There was a bit of a bang as the line went dead, leaving nothing but the dial tone.

"Uh-oh. What happened?" Jasper asked.

"I think someone must have cut the landline," said Charlotte, not knowing that Derek had panicked and slammed the phone back into its cradle. "Now I'm really worried." Being Charlotte, she naturally took charge. "Henry, call Ray and tell him what happened. Jasper, go find Schwoz-" Schwoz had apparently realized he had forgotten something after more or less stabbing Henry with the needle. "-and I'm going to try and pull up the nearby security cameras." Charlotte jumped over the back of the couch, almost kicking Henry, Jasper disappeared, and Henry used his free arm to dig out his phone.

"Yeah?" That was how Captian Man greeted his sidekick. Henry considered staying something like "You know, generally people say "hello" when answering the phone," but decided to be a smart aleck later. "Ray, I think there's more trouble. The line went dead, he said he was using a landline, someone might have cut it."

"Crap. I'm almost there, just need- aw-" Whatever Captain Man said next was drowned out by the Man horn.

"Ray?"

"Traffic jam- oh, wait, someone's car got totaled."

"What?! Are they okay?!"

"Yeah, actually, I think someone just got rear-ended, the damage doesn't look too bad, although that guy is really angry-"

"Ray, focus!"

"Right, um, this might take a few minutes." More honking. "I'm going to try and pull over so I don't get in trouble for leaving my car out- aah, cops are looking, putting phone down." Captain Man hung up and more or less threw his phone into the passenger seat.

"Okay then," said Henry, putting his phone down. Just then, Jasper came in, followed by Schwoz. Henry heard Schowz ask Jasper if Henry was going to hurt him.

"I'm not going to do anything to you, Schwoz," called Henry from the couch. "Charlotte wants you."

"Yeah?" Schwoz walked over.

"Hold on." Charlotte pushed a few more buttons and frowned. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"What?" Henry asked.

"I figured if they were smart enough to cut the phone lines, they would think to hack the nearby security cameras. I can't get into the ones within a hundred-foot radius."

Actually, the cameras hadn't been hacked- the Wall Dogs found some paintball guns in one of Minyak's storage spaces and, after he finished yelling at them for snooping ("But we were _bored!_"), he agreed to let them have a little bit of fun.

How nice of him.

Anyway, the Wall Dogs were all spread out by then. Most of them were up and down the nearby streets, in various disguises (because the last thing they needed was Captain Man- or anybody else- recognizing them), and a few- namely, Spray Z, Two Canz and PaintAbby- were inside the ice cream store with Derek and Invisible Brad. Maddy, Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort were in the van. Jeff was "guarding the base" again.

"Great," said Derek. "Captain Man is coming, but Kid Danger isn't. What happened?"

"Maybe we shouldn't have acted again so soon," said Maddy. Everyone could hear each other and speak to one another via earpieces. "They might suspect something."

"Well, that wreck nearby may have bought us some time, but he'll be here soon." The wreck wasn't actually part of the plan- they'll have to remember that distraction tactic- but it was buying them a few minutes.

Someone swore. "What?"

"You guys, Captain Man is coming!"

* * *

**Drive safely, y'all. You never know when a superhero is behind you needing to get somewhere to fight crime!**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	19. Chapter 19

"Crap," said Derek. Something like that, anyway. "Crap crap crap crap crap."

"Shut up and move! Just keep going with the plan!"

Everyone inside the ice cream store scrambled to follow Minyak's orders- they didn't really have much choice but to follow through with the plan as well as they could, seeing as how Kid Danger hadn't shown up.

Muttering, Derek got into position. See, what Minyak's plan had been was for Captain Man to show up, and, inside the store, Derek and PaintAbby, disguised as cops who had gotten there first, would have Two Canz and Spray Z in handcuffs, and pretend they had caught two of them, but another one had escaped.

"Some needs to go after them- Kid Danger, you're fast, you go." PaintAbby was supposed to say. Then Kid Danger would, according to the plan, go chase down Candace, who was waiting nearby, and they would "take the criminals down to the station" so Captain Man and Kid Danger could leave. Dr. Minyak stressed that this mission was for the two superheroes to think everything was fine again, because some people were caught. Naturally, not everyone agreed that his plan made sense, but they had committed to go along with it. Invisible Brad's job was to tail Kid Danger, just observe him, and the other Wall Dogs were ready to present themselves as a gathered crowd, one of whom would declare their self as someone who had been in the ice cream store, and another would mention that "Jordan" from the phone managed to find his parents, and they left.

Weird, yes, but they were going with it.

Derek and PaintAbby had barely put their fake handcuffs on Spray Z and Two Canz ("I _told _you we should have done it earlier!") when Captain Man kicked the door down.

Literally. As if the place wasn't already a mess.

Well, all in all, a few tables and chairs had been knocked over, but the mess wasn't unbelievable.

Anyway, Captain Man's grand entrance caused Derek and the Wall Dogs to jump, but, stuttering, they pulled themselves together from their panic and proceeded with the plan.

More or less.

"Uh, hi Captain Man," said Derek, using a much deeper voice than usual. "We, uh, were in the donut shop across the street, and… heard all the communion- I mean, commotion, and came over, and, um, we got everyone… yeah."

Captain Man didn't look like he was sure whether he wanted to thank the "cops" or be annoyed because he showed for nothing. "Oh. Okay, then."

"Where's Kid Danger?" PaintAbby blurted out. Derek gave her a very subtle glare.

"Kid Danger?" Captain Man thought for a second- should he tell the truth, or some version of the truth? He was pretty sure the cops weren't villains in disguise (yeah, about that…), but didn't want to say that Kid Danger couldn't fight right then in front of the bad guys who had caused all the problems. _Okay, whatever I say, it has to be believable._

"Oh, Kid Danger's not here because he's taking care of his pet raccoon." _Good_ _one, Ray._

"Pet raccoon?" echoed Derek.

"Kid Danger has a pet raccoon?" PaintAbby has heard of some weird stuff, but never a pet raccoon.

"Um, yeah," said Captain Man, knowing his lie was sounding more stupid by the second. "His raccoon, um, Jack-Jack. He's new, the raccoon, not Kid Danger, just a baby, Jack-Jack is, yeah, look, I gotta go." Captain Man started to leave the store, but then stopped. "Oh, one thing, did a little boy who was here find his parents?"

"What? Oh, yeah, Jordan found his mom and dad, he's fine, everyone's fine."

"Okay, thanks. I… should be off."

Captain Man left to find the Man Van, sitting right where he had parked it along the curb rather than waiting for traffic to move. The car that got rear-ended was gone, and things were moving normally again. As he approached, Captain Man noticed a pink piece of paper sitting on his windshield. _Annnnnnnd now I've got a parking ticket. Come on, people, I was about to kick some criminal butt!_

After glancing around for cops, Captain Man texted Kid Danger that he was on his way back, will give details later. As he drove off, though, something was nagging at him, and he had no idea what.

* * *

"Man, now I'm glad I didn't come. That was a waste of time."

Ray had just finished explaining what happened to everyone in the Man Cave, and that smart-alecky response came from Henry. Charlotte was next to speak up.

"Did you get their names?"

"Who, the cops?"

"The criminals, Ray."

"Oh. No, I didn't think about it." Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I'll call the station later and ask for details on those two," he added. Charlotte just shrugged and said okay.

Schwoz looked up from his phone. He had been surfing the Internet for any information about Becky's Ice Cream Palace, but nothing was coming up.

Mainly because the Evil Team (unofficial name, they were going to have another meeting soon) cleaned up after themselves. Becky's was closed for the day due to plumbing issues (A.K.A. the Evil Team messed it up so they could use it- long story short, the toilet water and the tap water were mixing), and the Wall Dogs who had been out and about had cleaned up the place. Well, there wasn't really much to do, just set a few things upright, but they didn't want the owners and staff coming back and reporting the mess, because that would cause suspension of a break-in. Which is what happened.

This was only part of why Schwoz couldn't find anything on the World Wide Web; the other reason was that the Evil Team had managed to do a simple database hack thanks to Maddy, who knew technology better than the others, and remove information about it being closed, as to avoid Captain Man and Kid Danger finding out the store was supposed to be closed.

"Well, I can't find anything on what happened," said Schwoz, putting his phone down.

"Me neither," added Jasper, turning the screen on his off. He had also been searching, but couldn't find anymore than Schwoz. "Maybe the cops didn't feel like going to the news about it."

Ray sighed heavily. "Alright. I guess I'll just have to call the station later and ask. I just hope they're not difficult." Swellview's police department was not always easy to deal with.

"Fingers crossed," said Henry, holding up his crossed pointer and middle fingers. Ray crossed his, too, and they did a little fist bump with the crossed fingers.

Ray glanced at his phone. "Whoa, time flew. You guys should get home, I don't think coming in late twice in a row would be good for avoiding questions from parents."

Henry and Charlotte exchanged a look, thinking about Piper. Personally, neither of them were super thrilled about keeping up a fake relationship again, but at least this time, seeing as how they spend far less time with her than they did with Jasper, they didn't have to do it as much.

Or so they thought.

The three teens decided to leave through Junk N' Stuff, but as soon as they exited the elevator they realized that it had started pouring.

"Great, the one time a year it rains and we need to get home," said Henry.

"Just call Piper," said Jasper. "I mean, I don't like driving around with her, but she's probably our only option, since both your parents are at work, Hen."

Henry and Charlotte both groaned. Jasper thought it was because they didn't like Piper driving, but they were groaning because they were afraid Piper might, you know, spill the beans.

But the alternative was walking home in the rain, so….

As they waited for Piper to come, Charlotte read a book, and Jasper messed around with stuff around the store. Henry, however, chose to sit by the door and watch the rain.

He had a bad feeling.

The storm outside may as well as been a sign that a storm was brewing right under their noses, but if it was, no one read it. Still, though, Henry had a feeling he just couldn't seem to shake off.

He rubbed the spot on his arm where Schwoz had jabbed him. Between that, and being unable to remember what he had done the previous night, he knew, deep down, that life was going to get crazy for a little bit.

Crazier than it usually was, anyway.

* * *

**I'm really starting to lose faith in my current spell check. If anyone sees something, please let me know. Much appreciated. :)**

**Happy Father's Day to any dads out there!**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

Henry has asked Piper many, many times to not honk her horn, especially when she can see them (in a no-honking zone, no less) but, naturally, she did so anyway.

"Come on, Piper, you're going to get us in trouble," said Henry as he climbed into the back seat. Jasper followed him, and Charlotte, being her favorite of the three, sat up front with Piper.

"Oh well," said Piper from the driver's seat, as she backed out. Henry saw Charlotte clutching her seat as they accelerated. Piper was a much better driver than she used to be, at least. Still, the fact that she is somehow legally allowed to drive is- how to put this nicely?- horrifying.

In fact, Henry still couldn't help rolling his eyes at the fact that his sister got a license- _by mistake_\- and he hadn't even gotten around to getting a permit yet. Being Kid Danger left him awfully busy, so he never really had time to learn. Maybe he could get Ray to teach him how to drive the Man Van. Although given what happened when he learned to fly the Mancopter, that wasn't very likely.

Anyway, as they pulled up to Jasper' s house, Piper kicked him out of the car and into the rain pretty quickly, but drove right past Charlotte's house.

"Uh, Piper, I sort of live there," said Charlotte as they drove by it without slowing down.

"I know," said Piper cheerfully, as she turned the corner, "but I have you right where I want you."

Henry and Charlotte exchanged a look in the rearview mirror. Those words meant trouble when coming from super villains, but coming from Piper, they weren't sure what to expect.

About a block away from Charlotte's house, Piper parked about turned to face her friend. "You know, this may sound weird, but here in America, couples tend to sit next to each other in the car."

"Fine, then I'll drive," said Henry from the backseat.

Piper scoffed. "Please, you don't even have a _permit_ yet. What I meant is, Charlotte, get in the back seat."

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte climbed over and almost kicked Piper in the face (on accident, of course) as she climbed into the back of the car. "Happy now?" Charlotte asked as she put on her seatbelt.

"Mmm, not quite," said Piper as she drove again. "Now, when did you guys start dating?"

"What?" Henry and Charlotte said at the same time, exchanging a look.

"Generally, when someone asked a question, it's considered polite to answer." Henry's first thought was _What does Piper know about being polite?_ "When did you guys start dating?" Piper repeated.

Henry and Charlotte glanced at each other again.

See, this is the part where keeping the secret gets tricky. They lied to keep her from getting suspicious, and now they have to lie more to cover things up. Not to mention the fact that they have to keep their lies straight.

_And_ they have to agree on the lies. _AND_ the lies need to work in their favor.

"Uh… I dunno," said Charlotte, an idea forming in her head. "Actually, being me, I put it on my calendar. Let's see…." Charlotte pulled out her phone and opened it to her notes, typing a note to Henry.

_Recent or longer?_

_Idk_

_I think longer than recently is better, because it provides a better story. But shorter means fewer details we need to make up. _

_Yeah _

"Are you guys going to tell me when you guys started dating or not?" Piper called from the front seat.

"Not, because that's not your business," said Charlotte. Or, rather, that's what she was _about_ to say, but Henry panicked and threw out an answer: "Last week."

Charlotte didn't want Piper to see her giving Henry a dirty look, so she pinched him instead.

"Yeah, actually," added Henry, rubbing the sore spot where he got pinched, "today is our one-week anniversary. We were hoping to spend it _alone_."

Charlotte was about to pinch him again when she realized what he was doing.

"Yeah," she said, building on his lie, "we wanted to go somewhere by ourselves."

"Yeah." Henry said, more details to the lie coming to him. "We were thinking about Fred Lobster."

Another thing about lying: sometimes, it gets you into deeper trouble.

"Oh, I'll take you!" Piper said cheerfully.

_Shoot. _"Uh, Piper, you don't have to-"

"No, really!" Piper looked at them in the rearview mirror. "I get free food there now, because of the commercial I did."

"The one nobody has seen?" Henry said under his breath.

"We saw it that one time, it was just in Spanish! But no, really, let's go, my treat. More or less."

A few minutes later, Henry and Charlotte were sitting next to each other in a booth at one of Swellview's many Fred Lobsters. Piper was up at the counter ordering their food.

"I can't believe we got ourselves into this," said Charlotte, holding her head in her hand.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have suggested this place." Henry has to admit it was partially his fault. Of course, even if he hadn't mentioned it, this whole scenario could've happened anyway.

Really, they wouldn't be in this mess if they didn't make Piper think they were dating. There were a lot of "If this had/hadn't happened"s in this lie. There were a lot of those in being Kid Danger, too.

Not to mention life in general.

At any rate, they were sitting in a Fred Lobster booth, waiting on the girl who happened to be Henry's little sister, who thought they were dating.

Living a lie is hard.

"Okay," said Piper when she got back. "One week ago, you two started dating. How and when did you realize you were in love?"

And now they couldn't even use phones to silently communicate. Great!

Charlotte was the first to come up with something… more or less. "It just kind of happened," she said with a casual shrug. "We spend a lot of time together, at school and work and stuff, so… you know." Charlotte spread her hands out, like "Yeah, you know what I mean."

Piper actually looked… seriously? _Disappointed._ "Seriously? Come on, people, I need details! Henry," she said, making her brother jump, "anything to add?"

"Uh…" Henry glanced at Charlotte, who lightly shrugged.

A thought crossed his mind. Sometimes, much to his annoyance, Piper would leave some of her tween romance books lying around. On occasion, Henry would be sitting at home and get bored enough he would pick one of them up. Most of this was before he became Kid Danger, but he racked his brains enough to remember a couple things.

"Well… I started getting nervous when I was around her. Like, I was worried that if I did something stupid she would think I was an idiot."

Piper looked at her brother like he _was_ an idiot. "Dude, you two have known each other for years. Why would you _just now_ worry?"

"Because… because as I fell in love with her, I started becoming unnecessarily worried about losing her." _Thank you, tween romance books._

"Interesting," said Piper, "but not enough."

"Enough for what?" Charlotte asked. "What's with all the questions?"

Piper gave an exasperated sigh, like it should have been obvious. "Well, if you'll recall, this morning I was giving you relationship advice that you seemed reluctant to take."

"Uh… yeah."

"After you guys left," Piper folded her hands on the table, "I realized what I was doing wrong."

"Prying into our business?" Henry said as a waiter came by with glasses of water.

"Shut up, Henry. What I realized is I was being too broad."

Henry and Charlotte looked at each other. _What?_

"If I was going to give accurate relationship advice, I need to know more about the relationship." Piper spread her hands out again throughout her explanation. "Seeing as how you two don't like questions, I'm just going to hand or with you guys at Junk N' Stuff tomorrow."

Charlotte almost choked on the water she was drinking. "What?!"

"Don't worry, I won't bother you too much, you'll hardly know I'm there. I figure might even buy something while I'm- oh, food's ready, be right back!" Piper slid out of the booth and toward the counter.

Henry and Charlotte looked at each other. _How are we going to get out of this one?_

* * *

**Me right before school let out: "Alright! Once school's over, I'll be able to get a few chapters ahead of the story!"**

**Me at one A.M. this morning: "142 words into Chapter 20. Crud." **

**Yeah.**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Maybe you could call in sick."

"Nah, Ray wouldn't let me do that. Besides, he'd figure out I was lying pretty fast, considering what happened when I really _was_ sick."

Henry took his phone away from his face long enough to check the time. He had a hard time believing it was only 12:34, especially given how long he's been talking to Charlotte.

"He night let you fake it if you explain what's happening."

"Yeah, but then he'll blame me. Not to mention tease us about... you know, this whole dating thing."

"Yeah, that's true. Well, I don't know what else we could do," said Charlotte through a yawn. "We _can't_ let Piper find out about you-know-what and you being you-know-who."

"I-know-that. I don't know if we can do anything else besides warn Ray and cut me out of missions for the day. Which I really, really don't wanna do." Despite the pain and panic that came with being Kid Danger, Henry loves his job. He never wants to give it up.

Henry waited a moment for Charlotte to respond when he realized all he was getting was steady breathing, meaning she had fallen asleep. Well, no wonder, given how late they stayed up the night before.

"Sweet dreams, Char," said Henry into the phone, even though she couldn't hear him. He hung up and set it down on his nightstand, and fatigue overtook him before he could worry about the next day anymore.

* * *

Morning came faster than it should've. Rather, the time to get up came, since Henry and Charlotte had been talking until past midnight.

Henry glanced at his phone as he shut his alarm off. There was a text from Charlotte:

_Sorry I fell asleep on you last night. I called Ray and explained the situation, he wants you to call as soon as you wake up. _

"Joyful," muttered Henry. He was glad he didn't have to tell Ray, and all, but he would still have to talk to him. _He's going to be so mad._

Henry wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed when Ray answered his Wiz Watch roaring with laughter.

"You- Charlotte- Piper thinks-"

"Don't even say it." Henry could actually feel his face turning red.

"I have NEVER been so happy to address a problem!" Ray laughed even harder and wiped a tear from his face.

"Hey Henry!" Someone stepped into the hologram frame. "It's me, Schwoz, from work!"

"I know who you are, Schwoz," said Henry, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was getting really tired of- _Wait._ "Did you really have to tell him?"

"Well, yeah, he's involved in half the plan! More or less."

"More!"

"Okay, what plan? What are we doing?"

"You'll see when you get here. All you need to know is act surprised."

"What am I being surprised about?"

"That's why we're not telling you!" Ray dissolved into laughter again, and Schwoz joined him.

"Yeah, fine." Henry hung up his watch and called Charlotte.

"Yeah, they wouldn't tell me, either," she said when Henry asked. "I'm not sure this is going to work out."

"Fingers crossed," said Henry. "You almost here?"

"Yeah, I'm standing at the corner trying to savor these last moments before I have to deal with Piper." Charlotte lived at the end of the block.

"Lucky. At least you don't have to live with her."

"I thank my lucky stars."

"Ha ha. Text me when you're almost here."

"Will do."

Henry wasn't sure that Ray's… _plan_ was going to work, mostly because he hadn't heard it. Heck, he might not even have a plan.

Henry heard the front door open and close, and Piper joyfully say hi to Charlotte. He glanced at his clock. He had a lot less time to get ready than he usually did. Sighing, he dug into his closet for some clean clothes, not looking forward to the day ahead.

* * *

Piper spent the ride to Junk N' Stuff jabbering on and on about how excited she was to help, reassuring Henry and Charlotte that they'd barely ("If at all!") know she was there, and a bunch of other stuff they barely heard. Henry and Charlotte spent the whole ride worrying, unable to come up with any way to become any less anxious.

Finally, after what seemed to them like forever, they pulled into Junk N' Stuff.

The first thing Henry and Charlotte noticed was the smell. Piper wasn't in Junk N' Stuff very often, but even she noticed it as soon as she walked in the door. It smelled like a skunk had sprayed all over a dead roadkill animal that had just thrown up its own waste.

In short, absolutely nasty with a hint of nauseating.

"Jesus rice," said Piper, grabbing her nose. "What is that?"

Without warning, a figure burst out from the back area, causing Piper to scream. Henry and Charlotte were sure someone had broken in, but it was just Ray... _Wearing an old gas mask?_

"Oh, hi guys!" Ray said through the mask. "Didn't you get my text?"

All that stuff about Henry and Charlotte being surprised was certainly working. "Uh… no," said Charlotte after a moment. "What is going on?"

"Oh, Jasper brought in this box that had been donated to us, dropped it, and a bunch of nasty stuff came out. That's what this smell is. We're pretty sure it might be toxic, so we sent him home." Actually, Ray has called Jasper and told him to stay home (and gave _him_ the full explanation- including Henry and Charlotte. He was very sad they weren't actually together) so he wouldn't walk in and ruin everything. "And I'm pretty sure having you guys around here with it would violate some child labor laws or something, and I don't feel like dealing with that, so go ahead and take the day off. Hopefully we'll have all this stuff gone by tomorrow, but we'll see."

Henry and Charlotte looked at each other. "Oh, okay then," said Charlotte quickly. "Let's go." She grabbed Piper's arm and dragged her out the door before Piper could start throwing at fit.

"Now what?!" Piper demanded as they made their way towards the car. "I'm TRYING to help you guys out here, but of course JASPER has to ruin EVERYTHING!" She took a deep breath and thought for a minute. "Okay, where else do you guys hang out?"

Henry and Charlotte exchanged a look. Ever since they started at Junk N' Stuff (yeah), they hadn't really had much time to go other places. Piper figures this out pretty quickly and sighed. "Fine, let's just drive around and find someplace."

Henry and Charlotte looked at each other again, finally able to feel relieved. _Crisis averted._ They got their phones out.

_Henry: That was AWESOME! How did you come up with that?_

_Ray: you know, my genius _

_Schwoz: It was my idea, AND I created the smell._

_Ray: fine, schowz did all that, but I called jasper and told him not to come , if I hadn't that could have been DISATOURUS_

_Charlotte: You spelled "disastrous" wrong._

Ray stopped texting back after that.

_Schwoz: She's right, you did._

_Henry: Told you you can't spell._

Henry and Charlotte couldn't help smiling. Pier saw this in the rearview mirror and smiled herself.

For very different reasons, obviously.

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

Ray and Schwoz's plan may have gotten Piper away from Junk N' Stuff, but she stuck like glue to Henry and Charlotte afterwards. They both knew they wouldn't be able to shake her off, so the best hope they had was to just take a day off and let her drag along. They also thought about having Charlotte just claim to need to go home because she was tired, or something, but Piper decided to mention at some point that if they tried to separate before she could "collect any valuable information that will be useful in my helping you," she would tell Jasper about them.

Ironic.

They didn't want to drag Jasper into the lie (more than he was, anyway), mostly because they were sure he would mess it up somehow (they loved their friend, but he's _pretty_ bad at keeping secrets), so Henry and Charlotte figured they might as well spend the day wisely. The stopped by Nacho Ball, the House of Tramps, and then an ice cream place. (Henry had a weird feeling about going to Becky's Ice Cream Palace, so Charlotte suggested another place. Not that they mentioned this to Piper.) Even though Henry was nervous about missing a mission, and Charlotte was worried for him, they actually found themselves having fun. Even Piper did, too.

In fact, they were having so much fun, they didn't notice when anyone walked in or out of the ice cream store while they were eating. Specifically, they didn't notice when a certain person walked in because Piper gave herself a brain freeze, and Henry and Charlotte were laughing.

The person glanced over and saw them, but they didn't pay much attention once they figured out the younger girl at the table had eaten too fast. They didn't pay much attention to anyone else in the store, just walked up to the counter, ordered their ice cream, got it, and walked out.

As they left, though, they couldn't help but have a feeling in their gut that they should stay. The person peered into the window and looked around, then over at the table where the girl had gotten a brain freeze, only to discover it was empty.

The person looked around. The kids who had sat at that table- a boy, a girl, and the younger girl with the brain freeze, were walking towards a car. They climbed in and drove off.

Something in their gut said to follow them.

Eating their cup of ice cream, the person speed-walked in the direction the car has driven and found it parked around the corner, in front of the House of Tramps, as the three had decided to go back and jump some more.

The person finished their ice cream and threw the cup away before going inside.

There were screens where people- mostly parents- could watch others bounce and play Dodge-A-Leen. On one of them, the person could see the kids, about their own age. One of them- the boy- looked vaguely familiar to them, but they couldn't place him.

They watched him bounce on the trampoline, dodge and throw balls. They couldn't figure out why he was bothering them so much.

_Wait… _there was something familiar about the way he jokingly tackled the younger girl on the trampoline. _I've seen him do that before… but where? _They watched him fight with the girls, but it was obviously play-fighting. It was the clumsiness that gave it away, how it appeared he lacked practice in combat, wrestling looked like a thirteen-year old-

The person gasped and covered their mouth. _No way, it can't be… can it? _They gripped onto the nearby table. _Is it possible? _The person swallowed, looking back up at the screen- _They're gone. _

They looked around, trying not to look to frantic. They could hear the younger girl speaking as they asked towards the exit: "Yeah, I think that's enough, I can tell that-" Whatever came after _that _was lost because the door closed after them.

Henry, Charlotte and Piper climbed into the car, unaware that they were being watched from inside. "Anyway, I have to say, you guys seem stable."

Henry and Charlotte quickly rolled their eyes. Piper hadn't brought up their "relationship" all day, probably so they'd forget the real purpose of their spending time with her. But Piper seemed to believe that their "romance" didn't need any work.

As they drove away, Piper giving them of a few words of general advice ("Communication is key," for instance), the person who had been watching them left the House Of Tramps and, as subtlety as they could manage, followed the car, keeping an eye on the license plate. They watched the older girl get dropped of at a house, then the younger girl and the boy pull into a garage at another. Feeling like a stalker, the person creeped around the house and spotted the boy through a window. _I must be crazy… but I have to try._

Henry left his room long enough for the person to whip off their string backpack that they were wearing, take out and tear out a page from the sketch pad that they always had with them, find a pencil, scribble a note, and open the window enough to slip the folded piece of paper so it was inside, but still trapped in the window, and climbed down the tree just as he entered the room.

_If I'm wrong…_ the person swallowed and crouched under a section of the house that was hollowed out.

The paper was the first thing Henry noticed when he got back to what the person figured was his bedroom. Cautiously, he walked over and slid it in all the way. He unfolded it. He read it.

He almost passed out.

Henry's first instinct was to call Charlotte. His second instinct was to call Ray.

He picked up his phone, but something in his own gut told him to not. _Don't tell anyone, _a voice in his head said. _Just do it. Look at what it says._

Henry stared at the note for a long time, long enough for the sky to finally turn orange, long enough for his parents to come home, long enough that the person who left the note had long since disappeared. As time wore on, it seemed more and more stupid to do as the note said, but something told Henry to go trough with it.

Night fell. Henry went through his evening as if nothing was wrong, but when the time he would normally go to bed (unless he was working late) rolled around, he sat on the bed, awake. Eventually, he quietly slipped out the window, reading the short note one more time first.

_Kid Danger,_

_Meet me under the Swellview sign at midnight. _

_I'm not going to hurt you._

* * *

**Who do you guys think it is?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	23. Chapter 23

Kid Danger had a knot in his stomach as he got closer to the Swellview sign. He had all the weapons he kept in his belt fully charged, and his Wiz Watch self-charged, so he definitely had some technology at his disposal in case things got… unpleasant.

But his little collection of gadgets wasn't making him feel any better about what he was doing. _This is so stupid. _Why was he following the instructions of a note that had appeared in his window, had no name, and, oh yeah, _addressed me as Kid Danger, for crying out loud! I need to leave. Now._

But his gut told him to keep going. At this point, he might have someone watching him, and the last thing he needed was to followed home. _Even though they already know where I live…._

Kid Danger realized he hadn't thought about Piper, or his parents. They were all at home. _Oh, no, if they know where I live, they might know where Charlotte lives, and-_

Kid Danger gasped and jumped back as he heard a twig break. After a fear-filled moment of silence, he saw a boot from behind a tree. The leg attached to the boot revealed itself, and soon, he could see a whole person- but their face and upper body were hidden in the shadows.

"Kid Danger?" The person asked uncertainly.

"Uh… yeah. I mean, maybe… who's there?"

The figure slowly approached. As the moved out of the shadows, Kid Danger could see their shirt; black with a couple white stripes on the arms. It looked too small, the sleeves not reaching their wrists, the pants stopping a few inches above the ankles.

When their face was finally viable, Kid Danger couldn't believe his eyes. Her hair had mostly lost the color streak it used to have, and she was a bit taller than she had been before, but her face, even after years had passed, hadn't changed.

"Veronika?" Kid Danger took a step back, and she winced. "Oh, God, I'm sorry- is that really you?"

"Yeah," said Veronika. She took another slow step forward. "So I was right…" she said under her breath as she got closer.

"Right about what?" Kid Danger was having a hard time believing who he was seeing. His brain stopped thinking about the note the second he saw her; it hadn't even occurred to him that she knew where he lived… who he was.

Not that it mattered. Veronika slowly moved her hand, and then, without warning, snatched Kid Danger's mask of. He gave a cry of protest and reached for it, but she held it behind her back.

"So you are him," she said. Henry looked at her like she was crazy. He held his hand out; it was shaking. "Give me my mask back."

She placed it in his hand. As soon as his mask was back on his face, Kid Danger drew a laser from his belt. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Whoa," said Veronika, putting her hands up in surrender. "I promise, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then why are you here?"

"I- I saw you earlier today, in town, and you looked familiar… it just kind of hit me, and I realized you were… you. Kid Danger. I… this is going to sound bad, but please don't think badly of me- more than you do already, anyway- my gut instinct told me to follow you. I saw where you live."

Kid Danger debated whether or not to lower his laser, or say something, or fire. True, gut instinct was the reason _he_ had come, but _she had followed him home. _That was creepy if nothing else was.

He settled for saying, "Did you leave to note?"

Veronika nodded, and Kid Danger could see her eyes watering. "Yes, that was so stupid, but I had to know-"

"Whoa, calm down." Kid Danger finally lowered his laser. "I'm not- I mean, that was spooky, but it was definitely stupid of _me_ to come here." Kid Danger was immediately sure she would take that the wrong way, but all she said was, "Can I talk to you?"

Kid Danger bit his lip, and then nodded. They both sat on the edge of the cliff, where, if they fell, they would fall only about four feet before hitting some rock below.

"So… what is it?" Kid Danger asked, still being cautious.

Veronika shrugged. "I… I don't know."

Kid Danger thought for a moment. "Why don't you start," he suggested, "from the beginning."

Veronika nodded. "Well… I just got released from prison a couple of weeks ago. I... I tried to go home, but my parents weren't there. I guess they had moved or something. But I don't have their numbers, or even my own phone anymore, so I don't know where they are."

Kid Danger had never heard Veronika- or any of the Wall Dogs- mention family before, at least, not that he could remember. He was tempted to interrupt, but resisted.

"I've been on my own since then. I checked the bank account my parents set up for me before, you know, I ran away and joined the Wall Dogs, but it was empty. I haven't had any money, except earlier, when I found a five dollar bill floating in the wind and bought some ice cream with it. Probably not the smartest move, now that I think about it, but I was right next to that ice cream place I saw you in, so I went in."

It was then Kid Danger noticed how baggy the clothes were on her. The weren't long enough for her legs or arms, but they were clearly too big for her now.

"You haven't had much to eat lately?" Kid Danger asked, hoping he didn't set her off.

But Veronika just shook her head. "No… I've been wandering around town, using public water fountains and restrooms, and trying to find places that are hiring, but that ones that were turned me away once they realized who I was.

"I've also gone to a few places that I know hand out free samples, but other than that and the ice cream, no, I haven't really had anything to eat."

"Have you tried a food pantry?"

She shook her head. "I don't know where to find one."

"There's a church a few blocked from the mini golf place- you know, the one you spray painted-" Veronika cracked a smile. "-that always has food donations for anyone who needs it. Go there in the morning."

Veronika nodded.

"And there's a lady a few houses down from mine who knits scarves and jackets and things year-round and hangs them in the tree in front of her house. Go there and grab something."

Veronika nodded again. Kid Danger stared at her, and she couldn't help getting a little defensive. "What?"

"You've changed," he said. "Like, a lot."

Veronika shrugged. "Yeah, time in prison does that to a person. In one way or another," she added.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Veronika tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "When I was in jail, I ran into some of the other Wall Dogs a few times. They became… harder. Like, gang up on the one who got away." She looked down. "I didn't realize that not getting arrested at first- that they would be so angry about it." She looked back at him. "They got transferred after a while- I haven't seen them in years. They probably still hate me."

She had no idea how much they did, that, not even a week ago, one of the Wall Dogs openly called her a traitor.

"It would've changed you, too," she added.

Not it was Kid Danger's turn to say "What?"

Veronika shrugged again. "Let's just say… I'm really glad you didn't actually become a Wall Dog. Jail would've… well, you're kind of a softy-"

"Hey!"

"Well, it's true. I know that because it rubbed off on me. It had to, or I would've…" Veronika swallowed. "I probably would've become just like them."

Kid Danger thought this through for a minute. "Well, you didn't." There was an awkward pause. "Look, I… I need to go."

She smiled at him. "Superhero work?"

He smiled back. "No, but if I don't get back home and someone wakes up, I'm dead meat."

"Oh. Yeah. Well… bye, I guess. I'll stop by the church and the house."

Kid Danger nodded. "Good. If… if you ever need any help, you can always let me know."

Veronika smiled. "I will."

Kid Danger nodded. "Well… see you." He started to leave.

"Kid Danger?" He turned around. "Yeah?"

"What should I call you?" Veronika asked. "I mean, since I've kinda seen your face now…."

Kid Danger thought for a moment. "You can just call me Kid Danger. Or Herbert," he added with a shrug, remembering how she had called them that when they first met all those years ago.

Veronika actually laughed. "I don't think you're a Herbert anymore."

Kid Danger put a hand to his chest. "That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Veronika laughed again. "See you soon, Kid Danger." She took a few steps to the side and disappeared.

A few years ago, Veronika finding out who Kid Danger was would've been a disaster. But something told Kid Danger he could trust her. _She's changed. She's trustworthy._

Right?

* * *

**Right?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	24. Chapter 24

Henry's first thought when he woke up a few hours later was _Why am I so tired?_

His second thought was _Veronika._

Henry jumped out of bed and opened his window. Sure enough, a few houses down, he could see Veronika looking through the clothes that were always in front of his neighbor's house. He watched for a minute, and she turned, seeing him.

Smiling- _Is that really the same smile?_\- Veronika half-walked, half-jogged to Henry's house and stood under his window. "What's up, Danger?"

"Yeah, don't call me that," said Henry. "Still trying to keep that under wraps."

"Yeah, and you've done a great job of it." Veronika didn't even _know_ how many other people knew.

Henry decided to ignore her comment. "Nice jacket."

"Thanks." Veronika tugged on the jacket she had taken- it didn't look homemade so much as old and patched up, but she liked it fine. In fact, she had a few other things in her backpack that were old and patched up. "Your neighbor also had some stuff that just needed fixing- I'm glad, or I'd be wearing that handmade yarn coat I saw."

Henry laughed. "Yeah, not ideal for our weather-"

"Henry!"

Henry and Veronika both jumped. Henry, recognizing the voice, slammed his window down.

"Piper, what do you want?"

"Who were you talking to?"

_Shoot. _"Uh… no one."

"Yeah, right. I could hear you and someone else."

"It's nothing, really, it's, um…." Henry panicked and spit out a lie. "It's for a movie."

Piper didn't seem to believe him. "A movie?" She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Er, yeah, it's a favor to Jasper."

"So you were talking to someone, judging by the lack of people in this room, someone who was outside your window for a movie?"

"Uh, yeah, Jasper wants to make a modern-day _Romeo and Juliet_ film. Yeah, the balcony scene is an out-the-window scene now."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Okay, then where's everyone else?"

"What?"

"Where's Jasper? Or Juliet? I mean, you can't do all this on your own."

"Uh…."

Piper scoffed and shoved Henry out of the way, opening his window and looking outside. Fortunately, Veronika had to good sense to duck where she couldn't be seen, or Piper might have recognized her.

Piper turned back to her brother. "So the person you were talking to just now was Juliet?"

"What? I mean, yeah, she is."

"Where is she?"

"You probably scared her away." In her hiding spot, Veronika stiffed a laugh after hearing Henry's response.

"Yeah. So no one else is around?"

"No, we, um, we were just rehearsing. That's why no one else is here."

Piper gave her brother a strange look. "Yeah…" She seemed to want to say more but didn't, and left.

"Henry, huh?" Henry jumped and turned to find Veronika had climbed up and was staring right at him through the closed window. He ran to open it.

"You didn't hear that. How did you hear that?"

"You may want to consider soundproofing your windows, because I could hear every word loud and clear. Also, the window was open when she yelled your name."

"Oh."

Veronika laughed. "So, Romeo and Juliet, huh?"

"Hey, I had to improvise. Do that a lot as a superhero. I bet you guys had to make up excuses for stuff." Henry realized a second too late that he shouldn't have brought that up, but Veronika, it turns out, was thinking about something else.

"So why Romeo and Juliet? Was it the first thing that popped into your head, or…?"

It took Henry a minute to realize what Veronika was suggesting. "Oh, no. I mean, no, I-" Henry took a breath. "Look, Veronika, I don't think either of us are on a good position to-"

"Relax, dude. I'm kidding. Jut couldn't resist teasing you a little."

Henry tried not to look too relieved. "Well, I am the one who let you go and stuff."

"True, but I kissed you first."

"Did you?"

"Yes." Veronika laughed. "I better go. See ya later, Henry."

"See ya."

Henry watched Veronika until she had disappeared.

_That,_ he thought as he got ready to go to work, _was too close._ If anyone found out he was helping out a former Wall Dog- especially Ray, who still held that grudge against graffiti artists in general- he was dead meat. Well, maybe not dead meat, but who knows what would happen. Probably, it depended on who found out.

Henry was thinking this as he pulled on a pair of pants and there was a knock at the door. "Piper, go away."

The door opened. "Oh, sorry, Charlotte." His best friend stepped into the room. "What's up?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Not much new, since last night, anyway. Except now we get to go to work and listen to Jasper and Ray and Schwoz tease us while we find out what we missed."

"Looking forward to it." Henry grabbed his phone from where it was charging and shoved it into his pocket. "Lovely way to spend a Sunday."

Charlotte shrugged. "It could be worse."

They had no idea.

* * *

Dr. Minyak say across the table from Nurse Cohort, whom he had decided was his official second-in-command/ assistant. Which had always been what they did anyway, although he couldn't help being a little sour over the fact that she didn't have a crush on him.

Even so, Minyak's thirst for revenge on Captain Man and Kid Danger (especially Captain Man) was enough to distract him from his… let's call it _heartache_.

"This had better be good if you made me get up," said Nurse Cohort through a yawn.

"It is," said Dr. Minyak. "It's about Captain Man and Kid Danger."

"Everything is, these days." She took a sip of her coffee, which was slowly but surely waking her up.

"We need to start making sure Captain Man and Kid Dumpster will both be around next time we strike. He didn't show up and we could have been caught."

"Ah, yes, a crucial factor in this weird plan of yours, Kid Danger is."

"Please stop. Look, I was searching through a box of old files that I didn't recognize. I think the stuff in there had something to do with- well, let me just show you." He got up and hurried toward the door. Nurse Cohort followed with her coffee, at a slower pace. "Whatever this is, you're making it sound like something that everyone else needs to know about."

"I'm waiting to tell everyone else. See, I've been thinking about what one of those Wall Dogs said- Candace, I think it was- and I think it would be more beneficial than risky if we found out certain information."

_That_ woke Nurse Cohort up. "You mean-"

"Yes. I wanted to see what you thought, being my second-in-command/assistant. The only real catch is that we can't fail."

"Which isn't your intention, I hope. Are we there yet?"

"Almost." Minyak led Nurse Cohort down a few more hallways before stopping at a door. "In here."

Nurse Cohort opened the door. Inside were sheets and blueprints. After reading through them, something clicked in her brain. "Oh," she said. She stared at the blueprints for so long her coffee got cold.

"Yes," said Dr. Minyak. "I think it's time we make a new plan."

* * *

**What do you guys think he showed her?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	25. Chapter 25

"I bet you it's someone new."

"Nah, when Invisible Brad showed up he didn't make a big deal out of it."

"Yeah, but you guys were the only ones around where that happened."

"Also Jeff."

"Pfff, he doesn't count."

"Probably, they're telling us a new plan."

"Yeah, can't wait to do a bunch of work again only to have Kid Danger not show up."

"Yeah, where was he?"

"Who said that?"

"Me."

"Me who?"

"This isn't a knock-knock joke! It's me, Brad!"

"Oh."

"Something about an anteater."

"I think it was a raccoon."

"Whatever."

"Eh, I still think it's a new person."

"Actually, I'm kind of hoping for… you-know-who."

"Voldemort?"

"No, not You-Know-Who, you-know-who."

"She means our old buddy."

"What? Oh- you mean Ver-"

"Don't say her name, you'll set off Two-Canz."

"What?"

"Nothing. Why do you want her back?"

"'Cause she was cute."

"What an excellent reason."

"Where is she, anyway?"

"Probably still in prison. She also got time for being the Mad Granny- I still can't believe she did that-"

"Yeah, that was weird."

"I'm talking here! She was the Mad Granny _and_ a Wall Dog, _and_ she evaded capture, so she probably got more time than the rest of us."

"Maybe. Could be out there."

"What does it matter? Even if we find here, she's probably still in love with Kid Danger."

"I hope not."

"Aw, someone has a crush!"

"Um, no. I mean it would not help her case if she does."

"Yeah, I don't think Minyak would allow someone who dated Kid Danger on our team."

"Actually, she might provide useful information."

"Maybe, but Minyak seems pretty on board with avoiding certain _information_."

"Actually," said Dr. Minyak, "information is _exactly_ why I have called you all here."

The small group that had been talking- Maddy, Invisible Brad, PaintAbby, Candace, and Derek- jumped when Dr. Minyak finally spoke. The others- Jeff and the rest of the Wall Dogs- snickered, having seen Minyak and Nurse Cohort watch the little group talking for a minute before startling them.

"Wait," said Maddy once her heart rate slowed down, "what do you mean, 'information is exactly why' you have 'called us here'?"

Dr. Minyak smiled. "I have made an executive decision."

"What's an executive decision?" Jeff whispered to Spray Z, who shrugged. "I dunno, I think it means he just chose our next president or something."

Dr. Minyak continued as if he had not heard that. "Having reflected on your… _feedback_, let's call it, on my genius plan… I have made a decision concerning the secret identity of our targets."

The room sucked in a breath.

"I have decided," he continued, "that the benefits of knowing Kid Danger's real name and seeing him without the mask is worth it."

The room buzzed with excitement. Everyone was ecstatic- some of the boys started making weird noises in celebration.

"BUT," said Dr. Minyak authoritatively, silencing the room, "the risk we carry has just become far greater than it was before."

If the room wasn't already dead silent, it would've gotten there.

"I never intended for my plan to fail, and I still don't, but it is more important now than ever that we succeed."

Someone cheered.

"Now, as for the modified plan…"

* * *

"So we didn't miss much?"

"No, no calls, no crime, no nothing."

Henry and Charlotte weren't looking forward to catch up on everything they missed while out with Piper, but, luckily, Saturday had been quite uneventful… because the team that was plotting to destroy him hadn't done anything the day before.

And Henry had no idea what was growing under his nose.

But still, the day off had been nice. Even though he had to spend it faking a relationship in front of his little sister. (A topic Henry and Charlotte planned to avoid as well as they could.)

"Oh, that reminds me," said Schwoz, holding up a needle. "You didn't get this yesterday."

_Crud._ "Is that bad?" Charlotte asked as she picked up a roll of duct tape off the table. They were going through that stuff fast.

"It's not great, I was really hoping for daily injections, but I don't think it's the end of the world."

"No, just the end of me."

"Very funny. But seriously, the scans are looking good, shouldn't have to do too many more of these."

"That's good," said Henry as his arm started trying to wiggle out of the duct tape. "I just wish this thing didn't- oh, that reminds me! Have there been any sightings of Jeff?"

"What?"

"Jeff. You said you got the security cameras to be able to recognize him."

"Oh yeah! No. Nothing's come up yet."

This, although they didn't know it, was on account of the fact that Jeff keeps getting stuck "guarding the base" so he wouldn't ruin a mission, as everyone is sure he'll do someday.

"So no sign of Jeff," said Charlotte, "and what about the prison wall?"

"The security guards have been spying on the area around the cell with the hole in the wall, but nothing's happened."

Since Jeff had escaped, he hadn't left the villain team's headquarters. The hole in the wall had been kept a secret from the inmates, so no one else knew about it.

"Really," said Schwoz, "the most exciting thing that happened yesterday was that Cleo got locked out of where the litter box is and did her business on the couch."

"Um, where on the couch?"

"Right where you're sitting!"

"EW!" Henry jumped up- or, rather, he tried to jump up, and his arm happened to be duct-taped to the table by that point and he slipped back down again. Schwoz burst into laughter, an even Charlotte couldn't hide her smile.

"Ha ha, very funny," Henry grumbled as he looked where he had been sitting."

"Relax, Henry," said Schwoz. "Ray made me clean that seat really good."

"Can't say that makes me feel much better," Henry muttered. But from what he could see, the seat looked clean, although he made Charlotte look, too.

Ray walked in right as Schwoz was giving Henry his injection, with Cleo on his heels.

"Hey, everybody, what goes on?"

"What goes on," said Henry, "is that your cat peed on the couch."

"Relax, I made Schwoz clean it up."

"So we heard," said Charlotte, rolling her eyes. "Just make sure she has constant access to her litter box."

"Yeah, of course," said Ray, like nothing had happened. "Did Schwoz catch you guys up on what you missed?"

"Not that there was much to catch up on, but yeah." Cleo wandered towards Charlotte and rubbed against her leg before jumping on her lap for pets. In spite of what will now be known as The Man Couch Incident, Charlotte liked cats.

Just then, Jasper rang from upstairs. "Hey, guys, I just picked up your fan mail!"

Captain Man and Kid Danger got fan mail a lot, but someone- it used to be Gooch, but he hasn't been around, so usually Bork, Schwoz or Jasper does it- goes and picked up a whole bag of it because no one outside the team knows where the Man Cave is.

Well, no one outside the team is _supposed_ to know where the Man Cave is.

"Send it down," said Henry. "I'm so bored right now waiting for my arm to stop flopping."

"At least you got it taped down."

"Yeah."

Jasper came out of the elevator a couple minutes later, lugging an old bag and a box. "A package?" Henry said. Last package they got wound up having a camera in it.

Which, coincidentally, was the plan Minyak found earlier.

"Yeah," said Jasper. "And here's a whole bag of letters, you'd think someone flipped a switch-"

"Wait," said Charlotte urgently, "be quiet."

"Why?"

"Shh! I think I hear something!"

They listened. For a moment, the boys didn't hear anything. Then:

_Tick tick. Tick tick. Tick tick._

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	26. Chapter 26

**IMPORTANT: So, in Chapter 13, when Dr. Minyak and them get control of Kid Danger, they don't know his identity yet. I accidentally wrote "Henry" instead of "Kid Danger," that was a typo, they didn't know his identity in that chapter, I'm so sorry for any confusion. Thank you PicassoPenguin for pointing that out!**

* * *

Everyone froze, afraid to move. _Tick tick. _They hadn't ever had a bomb in the Man Cave before. _Tick tick. _

"Ray, go check it out," said Henry, whispering as if talking too loudly would set it off.

"What?" Ray said in his normal voice, causing everyone to shush him. "Oh, come on," he whisper-yelled, "I don't think sound will set it off."

"Just go look," said Henry softly.

"Why me?"

"Because you're indestructible," said Charlotte.

"Oh yeah."

Slowly, Ray creeped over towards the package. Charlotte and Jasper ripped off the duct tape holding Henry's arm down and gripped it tight as they and Schwoz shuffled toward the elevator. The _ding of_ the door opening made everybody wince, but they hurried inside and kept the door open so they could watch.

Ray slowly opened the box the ticking was coming from. As he did, it got louder from being uncovered. They noticed something else: _tick tick tick, tick tick tick_. It was getting faster.

Once the box was open, Ray could see what looked like a bath bomb. It was small and round, only this had little pricks on the outside.

Those little pricks were cameras. Inside the bomb, there was a small chip emitting the ticking. What Ray was holding wasn't actually a bomb, it was a sphere with tiny cameras on them.

Not too far away, Dr. Minyak could see Ray's face. "He looks familiar," said the villain.

"He's _handsome_," Nurse Cohort added. Minyak rolled his eyes. "Turn up the ticking."

This was their plan: scare the heck out of Captain Man and Kid Danger while figuring out who they were. The scaring part was risky since it would put them on their guard, but they felt it was worth it to get their identities, since the birthday cake plan likely wouldn't work.

Down in the Man Cave, the ticking sped up yet again. _Tick tick tick tick, tick tick tick tick. _The sudden change in speed caused Ray, who had carefully picked up the "bomb," to yell in surprise and drop it.

Everyone in the elevator scream and dove to the sides. Jasper reached up and slapped the elevator button, causing the door to close. Not, however, before a certain boy's face appeared on the computer screen in front of Minyak.

"That must be him!" Nurse Cohort said, pointing to the paused image on her screen while Minyak's computer was still on live mode. "That one, the boy."

"Yes," said Dr. Minyak. _We've found Kid Danger. _"Who are the others?"

In the frozen image, Charlotte's torso and legs were visible, but not her face, since she had ducked into a corner. Schwoz was turned enough that only a small portion of his own face was visible, even though the rest of him was.

But they couldn't see Henry.

Henry, having super fast reflexes, had ducked into a corner of the elevator before anyone else could move more than an inch. The only part of him that the camera picked up was the- what's the word?- aglet of his shoelace. Even his flopping arm wasn't visible, since he was gripping it so tightly. Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort didn't even notice it.

But guess what- or rather, who- they did notice?

"Whatever. That boy there," said Dr. Minyak, pointing to Jasper. "We have to find that boy."

Sure enough, Jasper's whole body (minus an arm, since it was hitting the elevator button) was visible. They could see his face crystal clearly.

Yeah. They thought Jasper was Kid Danger.

"Well," said Dr. Minyak, shutting off his computer screen, "now we just have to find him."

"That's it?" Nurse Cohort asked, looking confused. "I thought you wanted to find him and then-"

"That's not all we have to do!" Minyak took a deep breath. "Nurse Cohort, if you please, make copies- yes, paper copies- of this picture. I'm going to collect everybody into the gym to meet."

Meanwhile, in the Man Cave, the "bomb" had stopped ticking. Ray decided to snap the sphere in half (although everyone made him do it in the elevator) and found the chip inside.

Except the chip had been busted when he broke the sphere, so it didn't look like it meant anything. The cameras on the sphere were too tiny to look like anything besides bumps.

"Well, said Ray later, "I don't know what this is, but it's not coming out of this box." Ray held up the box that Drex had put on his head that one time- they kept it around after accidentally realizing it could tolerate explosives. (Don't ask how they found that out.)

"Alright. Charlotte, you can come out of the elevator now!" Henry yelled. Charlotte had refused to come out of the elevator unless that "bomb" was safely stored where it wouldn't blow up in her face.

Charlotte peeked out and, seeing the box, finally came out. Jasper and sitting on the couch next to Henry, who's arm had been taped back down to the table, and Schwoz was next to Ray.

"Where are you going to put that thing?" Charlotte asked as she sat down across from Henry.

Ray shrugged. "Down in a lower storage level. Schwoz, you take it."

"No way! You won't get hurt if it blows up!"

"This box is safe!"

"You do it!"

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper watched the two grown men bicker for a minute before jumping in. "Hey!" Jasper kind of yelled. "We should probably check the bag of fan letters."

It hadn't occurred to anyone until right then that the letters might be dangerous, too. Ray finally took the "bomb" down to storage, and Schwoz went with him to fish out a special airport security-level scanner that would detect anything unusual.

Initially, the fan mail seemed harmless. There was nothing in them besides letters and cards, and the first few were actual pieces of fan mail. One was a drawing of Kid Danger with hearts around it, and another was a long winded letter about why some girl named Paula Makiato deserved to be the president of the Man Fans. (They got this specific letter a few times a year.)

It wasn't until a few minutes later, as everyone was sorting through the fan mail (left pile for junk mail, right pile for legitimate stuff, center pile for TBD Whether It's Junk Or Not) that Jasper opened one that was written awfully strangely.

Most of the time, villians (also Jasper) like to cut out words from magazines and things like that to write a threatening letter. This price of mail, on the other hand, was written entirely out of letters from those little kid stamps.

"Whoa," said Jasper, getting everyone's attention. "Henry, look at this."

Henry- and everyone else, for that matter- leaned over to read over Jasper's shoulder as he read it out loud. "'Dear Kid Danger,'" he read. "'I know who you are. I know who your boss is. I'm coming for you. All of you.'" Jasper squinted at the letter. "They spelled 'coming' wrong."

"Who cares!" Henry looked panicked, and his flopping arm just made him look ridiculous. "They're coming for me. They're coming for _us_."

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	27. Chapter 27

Henry's face shifted from panicked to guilty. "This is why I didn't tell you guys," he said softly. "Because I didn't want to get you in trouble."

Charlotte reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, I chose to stay here. You know that."

"Me too," said Jasper. "Well, I can't say I had much of a choice, but still, I chose to stay."

Henry shrugged. "What are we gonna do?" His voice almost cracked with worry.

"Well, they sent the mail and bomb through the fan mail system, so the Man Cave should be safe. You could stay here until we get this sorted out," said Schwoz, trying to be helpful.

"Yeah, but we have to go to school tomorrow."

"I can hack into their system again."

"Tempting," said Henry, "but ditching lunch and coming back in a hurry is one thing. Completely skipping school is a whole nother."

"Plus," said Charlotte, "if Henry, Charlotte and Jasper suddenly don't show up to school, that could be a signal for the villians- whoever they are- that we got their letter and are hiding."

"Plus, our families would definitely notice if we disappeared off the face of the Earth. They're not _that_ clueless," Henry added, thinking of Piper. Sure, she was completely wrong about why her brother was always out so much, but still, she _noticed_.

"This is kind of a long shot," said Jasper, "but maybe this is some kind of fake-out." Everyone looked at him. "I mean, maybe someone is trying to trick us and make us think something is wrong and watch to see if someone disappears, or something."

"That is a long shot," said Ray. "But you could be right. Any theory we come up with could be right. But if they really do know who we are-" Which they did. Kind of. "-then we need to take some extra precautions, like staying down here more. That shouldn't be too hard- Piper thinks that Henry and Charlotte are going out-" Henry and Charlotte turned red, and Schwoz giggled. "-so you can ride that excuse to spend more time down here. Jasper, would your mom even notice if you stayed late?"

"Not even sure if she realizes I have a job."

"No problem there, then."

"Well, Piper may believe our dating excuse, but we told her we didn't want other people knowing yet," said Charlotte.

Ray shrugged. "Unless you can come up with another excuse, better just hope no one notices how late you're out."

Charlotte shrugged. "Well, both my parents are still out of town, so hopefully they don't get involved."

"What if my parents tell your parents?"

"Let's try to not get _your_ parents involved first."

"Yeah, imagine their reactions if-" Henry smacked his forehead. "Oh, God."

Charlotte didn't even have time to ask "What?" before she realized what Henry had just thought. Everyone else did, too.

"I'm calling my parents," said Charlotte. Even though she wasn't Kid Danger, the letter had said "All of you."

Jasper decided to do the same thing- except his mom was single, since his dad moved to the opposite end of the country after Jasper was born. Henry agreed to check up on his family, too.

Charlotte made her phone call in the elevator, knowing her mom liked to video call better than audio. "Mom?!"

"Charlotte? Is something wrong?"

_Oops._ "No, no, nothing's wrong," she lied. "Just checking in on you."

"Oh, good. Well, thanks for checking in, honey. I was actually going to call later and tell you, but the manager who was supposed to call the meeting is sick with the flu, so I might be here a few extra days or longer, depending on his health."

Fortunately, her mom didn't bother using video chat today, because Charlotte looked terrified. She couldn't watch her mother if she was still out of town.

"Charlotte? You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry!"

"It's okay, sweetie. Oh, I gotta go, I ordered food."

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too! Bye!"

Charlotte hung up to call her dad. He didn't answer at first, which scared her, but then he finally picked up.

"Hi, pumpkin!"

"Hey, Dad," said Charlotte, relief washing over her. "How are you?"

"Great! I just got back from a rescue, you should have seen the…" Charlotte's dad was part of a marine rescue team, and was constantly out of town for rescues. "Business meetings," he calls them. "Because no one questions those."

Charlotte's dad rambled for about ten minutes about the orca his team is treating. Meanwhile, Jasper's call to his mom sitting by the sprocket door was much shorter.

"Hey Mom?"

"What?"

"You alive?"

"Yes. Anything else?"

"I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, bye."

Henry's arm wasn't flopping around as much, but it was still enough that he kept it duct-taped down while he called his family.

The good news was, not only were they all home, they were all alive and well. The bad news: Piper was demanding that Henry come home because she was trying out a new recipe.

"I thought she was done with cooking," said Henry when he heard this.

"She was," his mom responded. "But that one girl what's-her-face- Jana Tetrazini, that's it- is going, what's the word, viral, on YouTube for some lasagna recipe."

"Oh. Okay, I'll be heading out soon."

"Hurry!" Piper yelled from the kitchen. Henry heard his dad say something before he hung up.

Once everyone had finished phone calls, Schwoz decided to kick them out so he and Ray could observe the "bomb" a bit more. Henry mentioned that he was needed at home at convinced Charlotte and Jasper to hang at his house. (He didn't mention Piper would be cooking.)

As they walked, the three teens were constantly paranoid that someone was going to jump out from behind a tree and catch them, but nothing happened. This was because everyone was excitedly studying the picture of Jasper in the elevator, and another one of Ray.

"You know, I thought Kid Danger would be cuter," said Candace as she looked at the photo. "I guess puberty just wasn't kind to him."

"Or you. Ow!" Candace socked Two-Canz hard in the arm.

"Would you please focus?" Spray Z said. "Beat each other up later. If we don't memorize these faces and strike the wrong person, we're dead meat." Both of them stopped laughing.

Not too far away, Henry, Charlotte and Jasper weren't laughing, either. Dr. Minyak's pack of villians was afraid of getting the wrong person instead of Kid Danger (oh, the irony). The Man Cave gang was afraid of being seen by whoever sent the note and "bomb". Henry in particular.

Jasper was hoping that since he hadn't worked for Captain Man and Kid Danger, these people (if they actually knew) didn't know about him. Ironic, right? He had no idea how much danger he was really in.

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	28. Chapter 28

Needless to say, Henry, Charlotte and Jasper were really nervous about going to school the next day. Every little thing made them jump- a nearby kid dropping their pencil, a locker door shutting, somebody sneezing.

Throughout the day, though, they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. This only fueled their hope that Jasper's theory- that no one was really after them, or that they didn't know any identities- had some truth to it.

Needless to say, this was not true.

Right as the final bell rang, Two-Canz was hanging around near campus. Not, if Henry or Jasper saw her, they'd recognize her. She was wearing blue jeans and a plain blue shirt, had on natural-looking makeup, and, most notably, was wearing a long blonde wig with a blue headband over her shaved head that she normally wears a beanie over. She hated it.

PaintAbby was also nearby, in a similar outfit, although she wasn't wearing a wig, since her natural hair just hit her shoulders. Beyonspray was on the other side of the school, also dressed casually. In fact, all the teenagers or just-past-teenager-years people were hanging around the school, in casual civilian clothing they dug up from somewhere… or stole. Whichever.

It was Spray Z who spotted Jasper. "Target spotted walking with two others, over," he said into his walkie-talkie.

"You don't have to say 'over,' dumbo," said Maddy.

"Are you calling me an elephant? Over."

"What does that even- never mind, where are they going?"

"Uh… in that direction. Over."

"We can't see them, dumbo."

"They're heading towards me!" PaintAbby cried into her walkie-talkie. "What should I do? What should I do?"

"Calm down! Just walk in front of them. Who's near PaintAbby?"

"Me. Spray Z."

"Of course," Maddy muttered. "Spray Z, stay by the store you're next to, and watch. If they turn a corner-"

"Then I follow them and stay at the corner. I listened to Dr. Minyak this morning," said Spray Z, referring to Minyak's Explaining Of The Plan from that morning.

"Uh, guys, they disappeared."

"What?!"

"They're not behind me anymore."

"They turned into a store. You didn't think I was paying attention, did you?" Spray Z said.

"Which one?"

"Well, judging by how far they walked, they either walked into the frozen yogurt place that was shut down for health code violations, the thrift store next to it, or the pizza place that is totally empty."

"Thrift store, then. What's it called?"

By then, PaintAbby has walked back to Spray Z and was standing next to him, looking at the sign above the thrift store Henry, Charlotte and Jasper has walked into.

"Junk N' Stuff," they said together.

* * *

"Pretty uneventful," said Henry. Ray has asked him how school was, which was really him asking if anything happened. "Everything seemed normal."

"Well, that feeds Jasper's theory," said Ray. "I just hope he's right."

"Me too," said Schwoz, who was getting an injection ready. "I have some good news for you, though: this should be your last injection."

"That's good to hear," said Henry, pulling out the roll of duct tape no one had bothered to put away the day before.

It was right as Schwoz was giving him the shot that Henry jumped- but not because of the needle.

"What?" Schwoz asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing," Henry lied.

He had completely forgotten that, after Veronika left, he had called her name.

"Meet me back here tomorrow night," he told her. "My dad has a bunch of coupons that he claims he'll use but never does. I can find the ones that aren't expired and bring them to you."

Veronika had smiled. "That would be great," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow." Then she disappeared again.

In all the… _excitement_ on Sunday, he had completely forgotten about meeting her. _She's probably so mad at me._

Actually, it was quite the opposite. When Kid Danger hadn't shown up, Veronika was afraid something had happened to him. She searched the area for a while, but the unusually cool temperature and increasingly bitter wind chill had driven her back to tree-covered area she had made camp at to sort her stuff, and she stayed up all night burying her worry in sorting her few possessions and pieces of food.

As Henry was waiting for his arm to stop flapping, Veronika was going to his house. She had checked there several times already, but didn't get there before he had left for school that morning. The poor girl spent hours walking around town, trying to find him.

Becoming fairly used to the routine by now, Veronika swing herself up the tree and pressed her face to the window. _No Kid Danger,_ she thought. _Where could he be?_ Veronika hoped she was worrying for nothing. If she was, well, Henry will be in a different kind of trouble.

Everyone down in the Man Cave hoped they were worrying for nothing, too. But they knew to some degree (more or less) what kind of trouble they were in.

Veronika decided to walk downtown again and climbed down the tree, jumping the last few feet. She was about a meter away from the sidewalk when she heard it.

"So this is where he lives?"

Veronika froze. _I know that voice._

It was Van Del, who, as the oldest and adult Wall Dog, had been given the task of finding Jasper's house, which, by the way, was pretty close to Henry's.

"Not quite," said Nurse Cohort, who, alongside Derek, had done some hacking and found Jasper's address. "It's closer to the end of the block."

"Right," said Van Del, choosing that moment to stop walking… right in front of Henry's house.

Veronika could only hear Van Del's side of the conversation, so she didn't realize he was at the wrong address. _Oh, no, they must be after Henry. _

She peeled around the house. There he was, standing there, plain as day. He had taken off his mask and hat, but was wearing a light blue beanie, and used a yellow turtleneck sweater to hide his neck tattoos. His blue jeans looked like they had been taken from a dumpster (because they had). Even so, Veronika recognized him immediately. She wasn't likely to forget his face anytime soon. Or any Wall Dog face, really.

"Yes," she heard him say. Then: "I'm on it." He started walking towards her.

Veronika gasped a little- very quietly, fortunately- and ducked back behind the house. What Van Del has said "Yes" and "I'm on it" to were Nurse Cohort's "it's the one with broken porch, keep an eye out for that" and "keep going" before they hung up.

Veronika didn't watch Van Del walk to Jasper's house. She was already running.

_I've got to find Henry._

* * *

**Me at the beginning of summer: Yeah! So much time to write! I'm going to get ahead of the story and change my profile picture and...**

**Me now: I've got approximately 48 hours to lay out the plot points and get my life together.**

**Have a great school year, everybody!**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	29. Chapter 29

**I realized about eight o' clock last night that I hadn't edited this week's chapter… or written it, for that matter. School really has started! On the bright side, I've mapped out important plot points, so I have a fairly solid foundation for the rest of the story!**

**Also, HUGE thank you to PicassoPenguin for pointing out a very significant typo… I am so sorry for that, fixed it as soon as I saw it, if you're curious look at her second review for Chapter 28. Meanwhile, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper were so filled with anxiety it was amazing they got to school on time the next day. This was in spite of the fact that Charlotte had the idea of leaving early, just to throw off anyone who might be searching for them.

Even though they kept stopping because Henry swore he could hear footsteps (which turned out to be his own) or Jasper jumped at his own shadow (three times before they even left their neighborhood), and this caused them to arrive about five minutes before the first bell, Charlotte's plan was actually successful.

Veronika went back to Henry's house again, but thanks to Charlotte, she missed him. After resisting the urge to scream, she began searching around the city for him again. Henry still had no idea she was looking for him. In fact, he was convinced by then she was made at him for not coming back on Sunday. _She probably needs time to cool off._

Normally, Henry would ask Charlotte- she always listened to his girl problems- but he had no plans to tell anyone about Veronika.

Charlotte's plan may have kept Veronika from finding Henry, but it didn't keep Team Minyak's Evil Crew (we'll have to see if that sticks) from spotting their target.

Mostly because they weren't trying. They already knew what they were going to do.

* * *

"I'm debating whether or not to ask Piper to drive us."

"Why? It'd be safer to drive."

"Yeah, but if something happens, I don't want her to be there."

"Oh. Right."

Henry and Charlotte were waiting for Jasper after school. They both had their last period class together, but Jasper had art on the other side of the school, so they usually just waited for him to show up to the lockers.

"What's taking him so long?" Henry glanced up at the hallway clock. It was only five minutes after the bell, and a few other students were hanging around, but given the circumstances, there's no blaming him for worrying.

"I don't know," said Charlotte in response. She also seemed concerned. "Maybe one of could could stay here and the other could walk down to the art room."

"No, I don't want to split up. I could barely manage going to class without you guys."

"Because you missed us or you were worried something would happen?"

"Mostly the second one."

Charlotte smiled a little. "Let's give him a few more minutes. If he doesn't show, we'll both go down to the art room."

They waited, but it wasn't easy. Charlotte tried reading a book her cousin recommended- something called _The Selection_\- but after a page she realized she wasn't even reading. Sighing, she snapped the book shut and put it away. Henry tried showing her a funny video, but it quickly ended and neither of them had any idea what they just watched.

The sound of a nearby trash can made them jump, and that was what finally got them to leave. Henry, being faster, grabbed Charlotte's hand as not to lose her and practically dragged her down the hall until she told him to slow down. They ran the remaining distance.

The school's art teacher, Mrs. Paroo, was sitting at her desk. No one else was around.

Since Mrs. Paroo didn't like Henry very much- after an incident a few years back involving a paintball that he swears someone else brought in- Charlotte approached her desk.

"Charlotte, dear, how are you? What brings you here today?" Mrs. Paroo asked sweetly, noticing her.

"Hi, Mrs. Paroo," said Charlotte. "Have you seen Jasper Dunlop? I think he has class with you last period."

Mrs. Paroo frowned. "He does, but he wasn't here today. In fact, I was going to ask you if he was sick or something."

Henry and Charlotte exchanged a worried look, not really hearing that last part. _Where is he?_

"Thanks, Mrs. Paroo," Charlotte said, turning to leave.

"No problem, Charlotte. Oh, hello, Henry," she added a bit bitterly, finally seeing him.

"Hey, Mrs. P," said Henry, trying to be casual. She just glared as Charlotte quickly passed him, grabbing his hand and leaving. "And that paintball was Tommy's, not mine!"

Charlotte dragged Henry this time until he got his footing and was keeping up with her. They ran all the way back to their lockers, almost tripping a few times. No Jasper.

Starting to panic, Charlotte pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing?" Henry asked.

"Calling him." She pressed the button and held the phone to her ear.

As it rang, Henry noticed something. He stepped to his right. Then two steps to his left. It sounded like….

Henry looked over at the fallen trash can that had spooked him earlier. Sitting there, under a crumpled up math test, was a phone.

"Charlotte," said Henry, holding it up. Her eyes widened.

If the fact that they would recognize Jasper's phone wasn't enough, the fact that it was receiving a call from Charlotte Page certainly hit it home.

"Okay," said Charlotte as the call went to voicemail. "Jasper's phone in the trash can. He wasn't in art class. We can't find him. I think it's time to panic."

Henry had to agree. He shoved Jasper's phone into his backpack before calling Ray on his own.

"Shouldn't you three be here by now?" Ray asked by way of greeting.

"Ray, Charlotte and I can't find Jasper."

"He's probably in detention for wearing a crop top again."

"No, he was wearing a normal shirt."

"Okay, do you think he got lost in the halls?"

"Ray, we have been meeting up at this same spot for who knows how long now. I highly doubt that."

"Aw, geez. Did you try calling him?"

"We found his phone in a trash can, _after_ finding out he wasn't in his last class."

"Okay, that does not sound good."

"You think?"

"Okay, stay put- better yet, hide somewhere. I'm coming to get you. I'll call when I get there."

"Alright." Henry hung up the phone and turned to Charlotte. "Ray wants us to hide somewhere until he comes to get us."

"Good," said Charlotte, shivering a bit. "I am not walking today. And I know a place we can hide."

* * *

Jasper didn't know where he was. He was pretty sure he was in a moving vehicle, because the interior area looked like the inside of a moving truck. Also, he could feel himself stopping and starting, and he could hear the sound of traffic.

His hands and feet were bound with zip ties, but he managed to scoot his way to the front of the area and press his ear against the wall.

He could only make out a few words: _"Kid Danger… hypnotize… Captain Man… gone forever…."_

Jasper couldn't get the whole story through eavesdropping, but he knew one thing: he was in danger.

No pun intended.

* * *

**Again, thank you to PicassoPenguin for pointing out that typo.**

**Also, I hid an Easter Egg/reference to a movie/musical in here. Hint: look at names.**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	30. Chapter 30

If Henry knew what exactly was happening to his oldest friend, his hands wouldn't have been steady enough for Charlotte's hiding place.

They were, but he was concerned that they might be too sweaty to climb back _down_.

"It's so _hot_ up here," he complained. "But a good hiding spot. How did you find this place?"

When he didn't receive and answer, he looked over at her. Charlotte was gripping the railing awfully tightly, and her hands were shaking a bit.

"Char?"

"What?"

"You okay?"

"Uh… not really." She gulped and tried to not look down.

Charlotte's hiding place seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she was just nervous. They were in the school auditorium, on the catwalk… which was at least forty feet above the floor. To get there, they had to climb two separate ladders, the second one more daunting than the first.

"I should've thought to turn some of the lights off," said Charlotte. She considered using her hand to fan her face, but didn't want to let go of the railing.

Henry thought of something. "You were in the helicopter with me, Schwoz, and Phoebe, weren't you? That time with the train?"

"Yeah," said Charlotte, thinking of the fight Captain Man and Kid Danger had on top of a train. With multiple villains, no less.

"Yeah," she said again. "But that was different. I had a seatbelt on and a cable attached to me. Here it's just- well, technically it's supposed to be safe for students, but…."

Henry shrugged. "That's fair." They sat in silence for a few minutes. "How did you find this place?" Henry asked again.

"You know Em? The technical theatre student Jasper had a crush on back in sixth grade?"

"Yeah, I know her."

"She needed help fixing a light up here once, so I came with her. The tech students have to wear cables up here for safety," she nodded towards a pole above their heads where cables are supposed to attach, "but they're locked away right now since nobody is supposed to be up here."

"Oh. That's- what's that?" Henry listened. So did Charlotte. "I don't- oh, it's your phone."

"Oh." Henry fished out his phone from his pocket. Ray was calling. He answered and held the phone between his ear and Charlotte's.

"You here?" Henry asked, by way of greeting.

"Almost," said Ray. "Where should I park?"

"There's a parking lot with an orange tree in the center- don't ask how that happened- meet us at the curb by the building there," said Charlotte.

"Gotcha. Come on out."

After hanging up, it took a couple minutes to get back to the ladders, but getting down from there was plenty of motivation to keep moving.

Henry and Charlotte kept a sharp eye out for Jasper, but they didn't see him. As a matter of fact, by the time Henry and Charlotte were climbing into Ray's van, Jasper wasn't even in Swellview anymore.

* * *

There's a little bit of grey area in between Swellview and Bordertown where people like to shoot off fireworks, because once they're out of the city limits it's not illegal. There are only two things you see there.

The first is grass. The area is tended to because Swellview and Bordertown officials are attempting to grow food there to feed homeless people. The second thing is a single, abandoned building that used to be the Swellview Home for Runaway Teens, but a dispute over the name- since it's in the grey area- led to the shut down of the center. The building was left alone.

Had Derek and Maddy not been arrested, they would've assumed new identities and went there. They almost did, a few times, until they got the idea to steal prizes.

As Maddy pulled their van into the parking lot, they stared at the building for a moment. It didn't look much different from before the shutdown, except the walls became a popular spot for graffiti artists to tag. The Wall Dogs heard about it while in prison and were itching to paint it.

"And to think we almost came to live here," said Maddy.

"Yeah," agreed Derek. "But once we've completed this mission-" He smiled at her. "-we'll take this place and live here."

Maddy grinned back, in a sort of evil way. "Once we clean off all the blood."

In the back of the van, Jasper still had his ear pressed against the wall. He couldn't catch every word, but he _knew_ he heard someone say "blood." Which, understandably, freaked him out.

In the front seat, Derek opened the glove box to reveal a dart gun that was loaded with, well, darts, but they had enough tranquilizer altogether to knock out an elephant. Or, in the case of a single dart, one teenage boy.

The siblings climbed out of the van and quietly walked toward the back doors.

"Remember," said Maddy softly. "He has super fast reflexes, so as soon as the door opens, shoot."

"Got it." Derek whispered back, easing the dart gun. Maddy reached over and opened the doors.

Jasper, of course, does not have super fast reflexes. If he hadn't been, you know, knocked out, he wouldn't have been surprised that Derek got him on the first try.

"Huh," said Maddy as Jasper sunk to the floor, landing with his face towards the wall. "I guess he didn't see us."

* * *

Henry, Charlotte, Ray- even Ray- and Schwoz were doing everything they could think of to locate Jasper, but their options were limited. His didn't have his phone, he didn't have a tracker like Henry's uniform did, and, when Schwoz hacked into the school's attendance records, they only found out that he hadn't shown up to his art class _or_ the class before.

"We're getting nowhere," said Henry, nervously pacing the room. Charlotte wanted to tell him not to worry, that they'll find him, but she didn't know all that, she just knew Henry was right.

"You think we should talk to the police about this?" Henry asked, looking at Ray, who shrugged. "I don't know. If it were anyone else, yeah, but this might have connections to Captain Man and Kid Danger, so there's a huge risk." Henry and Charlotte knew he was right, but they were really worried about their friend.

"Maybe we could search the school for fingerprints?" Schwoz suggested. "Or hairs, anything that could give us a clue."

"Theoretically, that should work, but there's a million students, teachers and staff members there every day," said Charlotte. "We'd end up with some fingerprints or something, alright, but it's much more likely they'd belong to some random kid than whoever took Jasper."

Saying it out loud seemed to have some sort of effect on everyone- it made the situation seem more real. They stood in silence, unable to come up with anything to say or do.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only a few seconds, Henry mumbled something about going to the bathroom and left the main area of the Man Cave. Once he got past the sprocket door, where the Man Cave bathrooms were, he grabbed a pillow from the spare bedroom and screamed into it.

Henry's attempts to muffle his screaming wouldn't have worked very well, but the loudest ones were drowned out in the main area by the emergency alarm.

"Aw, geez, hide, you guys," Ray said to Schwoz and Charlotte, pulling his gumball tube from his pocket. As he transformed, he thought about calling Henry, but since he thought his sidekick was using the bathroom, not just screaming, he told Charlotte to go tell him not to come out since he wasn't in uniform.

Captain Man's finger hovered over the button for a second, unsure if whether he hoped that the emergency was related or unrelated to Jasper and the whole threatening-letter-to-Kid-Danger-and-friends-that-came-with-a-bomb thing. If it was, they might get a clue, but there might also be bad news. If it wasn't, then they had more on their plate and no answers.

Finally, Captain Man took a deep breath and answered the call. When he saw who was on the other end, his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

* * *

**Who- or what- do you guys think he saw?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**

**P.S. The Easter Egg/reference from the last chapter was from "The Music Man."**


	31. Chapter 31

Charlotte found Henry lying on the floor in the hallway with the pillow over his face, so he didn't see her at first, and her footsteps were too quiet against the carpet to be heard.

She stood near him for a minute. Charlotte was worried, but she knew good and well that Jasper was Henry's oldest friend- she actually only became friends with him because of Henry. _The day I became friends with Henry and Jasper…. _She could still remember it like it was yesterday….

* * *

_"Will you do this for me?" A six-year-old Jasper tried to hand his assignment to Charlotte, the Smartest Girl In First Grade._

_"No," she said with the usual sass she's had since preschool. "If you don't do it yourself, you don't learn." She heard her mom say it often enough, which is why she was growing up to be such a great stud__ent. "Besides," she added, pushing the paper away, "all you have to do is fill in the blanks. It's easy."_

_"If it's so easy, then what am I learning?" Jasper had retorted, proud of his flash of wit. Charlotte, not near as impressed, rolled her eyes and decided to read her book in __the reading corner instead of at her desk, settling into a giant red bean bag chair. _

_She had only been reading for a minute when the light was replaced by a shadow. "He's not that bad, you know," said a voice. Charlotte peeked over her book to see a blonde boy with brown eyes. She didn't recognize him very well, other than playing the Name Game on the first day of school, so she figured he hadn't ever been in her class before. "He's just not great at school. Wicked good art projects, though." Charlotte got really annoyed when the boy sat down next to her, _uninvited_. It wasn't that there wasn't enough room- the bean bag chair was big enough for three high schoolers, and more than big enough for three tiny first-graders- Charlotte just wanted to be left alone. She gave the boy a I'd-like-to-be-alone-right-now-please look and tried to return to her book, but, nonetheless, he stuck his hand out. "I'm Henry."_

_Despite her annoyance, Charlotte shook it anyway, knowing her mom would be disappointed if she wasn't polite. "I'm Charlotte."_

_Henry thought for a moment. "Charlotte? Like _Charlotte's Web_? Are you a spider?" He made a face and squirmed, wiggling his fingers._

_Charlotte laughed in spite of herself. "No, just Charlotte." _

_"Nice to meet you, Just Charlotte." Charlotte thought about playfully hitting him with her book, but knew the librarian, Mrs. Anne, would be mad if she damaged the book. She settled for saying "Very funny" and returning to her book, figuring, now that the introductions were over, this boy- Henry- would get the message and leave. _

_He did not. "Wow, you already read at a fifth grade level?" Henry said. Charlotte gave him a questioning look. "Your book."_

_"Oh." She looked at it. "Actually, I read at a sixth grade level," she said proudly. "I just really like this one, so I'm reading it again." _

_"That's so cool." Charlotte took the compliment and smiled. _Okay, maybe he's not so bad.

_She changed her mind later when, after they talked about a couple things- family, what they did at recess- Henry left for a moment and brought back Jasper._

_"Jasper, this is Charlotte," he said, introducing her._

_"I know," said Jasper. "She's the Smartest Girl In First Grade. You know that."_

_"I do, but you haven't been introduced. That's important for friends."_

_"What?" Jasper and Charlotte said at the same time. _

_Henry smiles and looked at Charlotte. "Jasper's my friend, and you're my friend now, too, so you two are now friends."_

_"Says who?"_

_"__Says me." Henry sat on one side of her and signaled Jasper to sit in the other._

_Charlotte thought about refusing, about going back to her desk, about going potty just __to get away from these boys. But instead, she slid a bookmark in, closed the book, and actually talked to her new friends. The bean bag chair became their new favorite spot that day. They would sit there and talk about things all the time. Charlotte learned about their families, and she told t__hem about hers. They also talked about Captain Man, Jasper being already obsessed with the guy. She learned that Henry wanted to be a superhero when he grew up (talk about foreshadowing!) and that Jasper was a bucketeer. They also talked about what to do at recess. _

_If not for Henry, Charlotte would've spent every free moment of elementary school reading by herself or studying, including during recess time. Everyone knew her as the Smartest Girl In First Grade (and later, the Smartest Girl In Second Grade, and so on), but most kids thought she was too nerdy to hang around. Once Henry talked her into playing tag instead of reading or studying, kids started accepting her a bit more. Henry, she found out, was what was considered "popular" at school. Being friends with Jasper made him weird in the eyes of the other kids, but not weird enough to be left alone, and not weird enough to be picked on._

_They ignored the comments. Henry and Jasper taught Charlotte lots of outdoor games, and Charlotte returned to favor by making the boys play pretend with her. The best days were when she would play the mom, and Henry and Jasper were her kids, because she got to boss them around._

_Charlotte found that she actually liked being friends with Henry and Jasper. She shocked herself by liking it more than getting A's on tests, more than when she got gold stars from teachers. In fact, the proudest moment of Charlotte's elementary school career was when, one day, in fourth grade, Henry declared her his best friend._

* * *

_Like it was yesterday,_ Charlotte thought as caught herself daydreaming. Her life would be drastically different if not for Henry walking over to her that day.

She quietly walked over to him and sat down next to his head. "You okay?"

Henry jumped a little, having not heard her. He lifted the pillow from his face, and, seeing her, sat up. "Not really," he said, hugging the pillow. "I'm worried about him."

Charlotte nodded in understanding. "Me too." There was a pause. "I was just thinking about the day you introduced me to him."

Henry smiled. "So was I, although first I thought about the day I met him."

"What happened? I don't think you ever told me."

"To the best of my memory, Jasper was playing alone at recess, so I dragged him out to play hide-and-seek. Told him it was perfect because he could hide from other kids and be alone." Henry grinned. "Turns out he hid so well the teacher couldn't find him and freaked out. He had climbed onto the low roof- you know, the slanted one kids were always losing things on."

"That was Jasper?!"

"Yeah! Teacher gave the whole class a lecture when we got back. Lucky you, you were in a different class."

"Oh yeah." They shared a laugh. Then Henry's smile faded. "You alright?" Charlotte knew that was a stupid question, but asked anyway.

Henry shrugged. "Not really," he said again. "I just hope he's okay."

"Me too." They sat in silence for a minute before Charlotte slapped her forehead. "Duh! I almost forgot what I came here for."

"What?"

"There's an emergency call, Ray is- don't move!" Charlotte grabbed Henry's arm and yanked him back down. "Ray said not to come since you're not Kid Danger right now."

"Oh. Right." He started digging in his pocket for his gumball tube, only to discover he had left it in his backpack. _Wait._ "Wait, shouldn't I have heard the alarm over here?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Schwoz disabled the alarms over here so he could adjust the system, remember?"

"Oh, right." The alarm system had been going off at random times since Schwoz did that system update- an event that Henry didn't like thinking about- but only in the area behind the sprocket door. If that wasn't weird enough, sometimes only the lights went off, sometimes only the sound came on. Schwoz promised it would be fixed in the next day or two.

"So… I guess we just wait over here?" Henry said.

"I guess," said Charlotte with a shrug. Another moment of silence. "Now I'm dying of curiosity."

"Yeah," said Henry. "Me too."

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Buckle your seatbelts. This is going to be a long one.**

* * *

Ray didn't like Jasper very much. He was really unhappy that another person found out who his Kid Danger was and wanted to wipe his brain and be done with him. But Henry insisted he be left alone; Ray only agreed because he didn't want to lose his sidekick. Jasper has grown on him some since then, more than Ray was willing to admit.

Even so, when Captain Man answered the emergency call and saw Jasper, he freaked.

Jasper was tied up against a rectangular pole. His mouth had duct tape covering it, but he tried to speak anyway.

"Mah-mah Man! Mah-mah Man!"

Captain Man's first thought: _If I don't rescue him, Henry's gonna kill me._

"Hello, Captain Man," said a voice off-screen. He recognized it immediately.

"Minyak," he growled. "Let him go."

Dr. Minyak stepped into frame. "Oh, I won't be doing that." He smiled a malicious smile. "I have your little sidekick here. If you want him, come get him." He turned to Jasper. "Better hope your _superhero_ comes through."

Captain Man was very lucky that Minyak had turned his back, because he couldn't hide his surprise. _Jasper? My sidekick? As _if_._

Captain Man thought about correcting him. He thought maybe Minyak had decided to kidnap a random kid, that he knew Jasper wasn't really Kid Danger. But then he realized, based on Minyak's expression and cruel taunts to Jasper, that he really believed that Jasper Dunlop was actually Kid Danger.

Captain Man had a split-second decision to make: either tell Minyak his mistake- though he probably wouldn't believe him- or play along. _If you want him, come get him._ If Minyak realized that Jasper wasn't Kid Danger, he might hurt him. He glanced down at Schwoz, who was behind the control panel. He seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Leave my sidekick alone," Captain Man heard himself saying. "What do you want from me?"

Minyak gave his enemy a deceivingly innocent look. "Nothing, my dear Captain Man. If you want your sidekick back, come pick him up." _Pick him up._ Like he needed a ride home from school, or something.

Captain Man glared at Minyak and then looked over at Jasper. "I'm coming, Kid. Hang in there." He shifted his focus back to Minyak. "Stay on the line." Captain Man turned off their camera and put their end on mute before looking down at Schwoz. "Track down their location. I'll be right back." Schwoz nodded, and Captain Man ran into the sprocket door.

He found Henry and Charlotte sitting side-by-side against the wall. "What's going on?"

"Minyak has Jasper." Henry and Charlotte both jumped up. "Hold it! You're staying here," he said to Henry, who couldn't believe his ears. "What?!"

"Minyak thinks Jasper is Kid Danger," said Captain Man. "If you come and he figured out he's not…" his voice trailed off. He didn't need to finish; they knew what he was thinking.

Henry took a step towards Captain Man. "Ray, he might be trying to trick you. I should come, just in case."

"No, it's too risky," said Captain Man. He sighed. "Look, I don't like Jasper very much, but if I let that kid get hurt, I know you won't forgive me." Henry, looking a bit startled, tried to say something, but Captain Man cut him off. "Don't try to deny it. You were willing to quit being Kid Danger for him. I'm going to go, grab Jasper, and find a safe place for him to hide. Then you can come out. Until then, either go watch- Minyak is on a video line, our camera is turned off and muted- or do something else useful." Captain Man ran back out before Henry could say anything.

Charlotte took his hand and squeezed it. "Ray'll get him out," she said, both for her benefit and for Henry's. He squeezed back.

"They're at the abandoned Swellview Home for Runaway Teens," said Schwoz as Captain Man ran down the steps.

"Alright," said the superhero, summoning the Weapons Wall. He picks out a blaster and a dart gun. "Don't let them out of your sight and make sure Henry doesn't leave."

Schwoz nodded. "Up the tubes!" Captain Man sped out of sight, and Schwoz turned his attention back to the monitors.

* * *

Meanwhile, Veronika was on the verge of ending her daily search. It wasn't dark outside yet, but she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to find Henry and take a nice, long nap. Although some shelter and security would be nice, too.

Veronika had to walk the block that Junk N' Stuff was on to get back to her camp, so she made the turn. No sooner had she stepped into the street that she almost squealed and ducked behind some trash cans.

Two Canz and Candace were each holding a standard-size shopping bag and were giggling like middle school girls. They got closer and closer to Junk N' Stuff- or, as Veronika put it, farther and farther away from her. She was about to make a run for it when she heard one of them mention Kid Danger.

Swallowing her fear, Veronika made a mad dash from the trash cans to a recycling bin.

"... if Minyak won't let us tag his place, then we'll TP it before we get there."

"And we'll tag it later with everyone else. Like, right after they clean it up."

"Nice!"

Veronika watched the two girls that had been her only family run over to Junk N' Stuff and start throwing toilet paper from their bags. She would've rolled her eyes at their childish antics if her mind hadn't been racing. _Minyak? As in, Dr. Minyak? The villain?_

She hadn't picked up on very much of their conversation, but it was enough to lead her to a conclusion.

Waiting for Two Canz and Candace to finish their work was torture, but after what seemed like hours, they ran, holding like banshees. Ignoring the artist way the girls had TP'd the front of the store, Veronika ran inside.

The dinosaur scared her as she came in. Veronika looked around. _Too easy. __There's no way this is it, _she thought, _which means I have to find it. _Her eyes wandered toward the back area.

_Makes sense._ Veronika hesitated, but then pushed the button to open the door. It seemed like a normal elevator.

I can't believe I'm doing this. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the bottom button.

* * *

"Schwoz, are you okay?" Henry asked, noticing that the man looked uncomfortable. He was sitting on the Man Couch with Charlotte, while Schwoz was in the chair.

"No," he said. "I have to pee."

"Then go pee."

"I can't. Ray said to stay here and make sure you don't leave."

"I'll make sure he doesn't leave," said Charlotte. "Go." Schwoz jumped up and ran to the sprocket, almost bumping into the Weapons Wall, which had been left up.

Henry looked back at the screen. Jasper looked terrified. Henry felt awful for not being there, but knew that Captain Man was right about it being less risky. He glanced at Charlotte, who was nervously twiddling her thumbs.

The sudden sound of a scream made them snap to attention. Henry stood up in front of Charlotte, who backed up a couple of steps.

Even though Charlotte never met Veronika in person, all that time she spends looking at villains through a screen enabled her to recognize her immediately. She screeched and grabbed a blaster off the Weapons Wall, taking aim.

Veronika screamed and ducked, and Henry snatched the blaster from Charlotte. "Whoa, hold up!" He slowly approached Veronika, who was attempting the stand back up. "What- how did you-"

"Mi- Minyak," she panted, having a hard time catching her breath. "He- the other Wall Dogs-"

"Other Wall Dogs? What?"

"I- I just overheard them. Two Canz and Candace. They were talking about Minyak and mentioned you. They were toilet-papering the store. I think they're plotting something against you." Veronika finally sank back down, wheezing.

Henry thought about what she just said and combined it with what Captain Man told him. His brain clicked.

He turned to Charlotte. "I have to go."

"But Ray said-"

"I don't care what Ray said! I'm sorry, but this isn't just Dr. Minyak anymore. It's also the Wall Dogs and who-knows however many other people he has. Ray can't rescue Jasper alone.

Behind him, Veronika stood back up. "I'm coming with you." Henry started to object, but she put a hand up to silence him. "If the Wall Dogs see me, they'll be totally distracted."

Henry had to concede that she had a point. "Then you'll need this," he said, walking over and handing her the blaster. This made Charlotte nervous, and she grabbed another one off the Weapons Wall.

"We can trust her. I'll explain later," said Henry, seeing this. He turned back to Veronika. "Go back upstairs before anyone sees you. I'll be there in a minute." Nodding, Veronika pressed the upper button, hoping that the ride back up won't be as terrifying as the ride down was.

Henry grabs his gumball tubes and blows a bubble. In all the lights, he doesn't see Charlotte put on a belt with lasers and smoke bombs. "I'm coming with you."

"What? No way. I don't want you getting hurt," said Kid Danger, holding his hand out for the blaster. Charlotte held it closer to her body. "You're letting her go!"

"Veronika's used to danger. She can distract the Wall Dogs."

"I'm going. And you're not supposed to be going, either."

"That's different."

"I don't care." Charlotte brushed past Henry and marched toward the elevator. Just as she pressed the button, Schwoz came back.

"Hey, I'm- what are you two doing?!"

"Leaving," said Charlotte.

"But you're not supposed to- oh, forget it." Schwoz, much to Henry and Charlotte's surprise, grabbed a dart shooter and a laser off the Weapons Wall and marched toward the two teens. "Then I'm coming with you."

Charlotte knew that Schwoz had always wanted to fight with Captain Man and Kid Danger (the preferred scenario being that he rescues them and is a hero), but she wasn't going to have him tag along for a fantasy. "Schwoz, it's-"

"I know, it's too dangerous. But I'm not supposed to let you out of my sight. So I won't."

Henry and Charlotte exchanged a look, realizing that Schwoz wasn't going with them to be a hero. He was going with them to protect them. "If you're coming with us," said Henry, "I need to tell you something first."

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	33. Chapter 33

The Swellview Home for Runaway Teens wasn't very big. It had several biggish rooms where the occupants would sleep, a kitchen/dining hall, and a small gym that had a pair of rectangular poles in front of a wall that was covered by a giant mirror- it was supposed to double as a dance studio, but no one was ever interested in using it. Even before the home shut down, the staff and volunteers had given on bothering to try to clean it, so the whole room was covered in cobwebs and dust bunnies.

Captain Man had gone there to give a speech to the teens once about finding themselves, doing good, blah blah blah, so, despite the unclean state the gym/dance studio was in, he knew where to find Jasper, having recognized the rectangular pole he was tied to in front of the mirror. He also knew that there was a back door.

Captain Man jumped out of the Man Van and ran like a rabbit to the door, then hesitated for a moment, hoping he had made the right choices. _Come on, Ray. It's no biggie. Get in, get Jasper, get out. _

If only it were that simple.

* * *

"Ray's going to kill you, you know."

Veronika glanced at Kid Danger, hoping Schwoz wasn't talking to her. "I can't believe you let another person find out," he added, making the target of his comment clear.

Veronika breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Kid Danger walked toward Schwoz. "He won't, because I'm not telling him, and neither are you. Right?" Kid Danger didn't like being mean to Schwoz, but gave him a death glare to show he really mean business. Schwoz looked nervously at him in the rearview mirror for a moment before looking back at the road. "I won't."

It took some arm twisting, but Schwoz finally agreed to use his RV as the getaway car because everyone- Kid Danger, Charlotte, Captain Man, Jasper and Schwoz- would need to fit. Veronika only planned to stick around for the ride there. She wasn't sure what to do afterwards, but she didn't want to hang around for Captain Man to spot her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kid Danger asked, standing in front of her. He had been pacing before and didn't plan on sitting anytime soon. "I mean, if the Wall Dogs hate you as much as you think, it could be dangerous."

Veronika knew he was right, but didn't want to back down. She shrugged. "You helped me, so the least I could do is return the favor. I have nothing to lose, anyway," she added, in a tone that implies the topic was dropped.

_I have nothing to lose, anyway._ Kid Danger wondered what that meant. He glanced over at Charlotte, who, having sat in the other seat because she was still a bit weary of Veronika, appeared to be wondering the same thing.

"We should have left someone there," said Charlotte after the silence got too uncomfortable. "To watch the cameras. What if something's happening right now?"

They hadn't thought of that. "Don't worry," said Kid Danger, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Ray won't let Jasper get hurt."

They weren't sure, but Charlotte and Veronika were pretty sure Kid Danger was mostly saying this for his own benefit.

* * *

"Well, well, well," said Dr. Minyak with an evil grin. "Looks like your superhero decided to finally show up."

Captain Man was trying to come up with a smart comeback- without success- when Nurse Cohort stepped out from behind the other rectangular pole, smiling at him- it was a mix between a you-are-so-dead smile and a hello-handsome smile. There was a brief uncomfortable silence before someone kicked the door open, making Captain Man jump- he was even more surprised to see who came in.

Having left _before_ Veronika showed up, Captain Man hadn't been expecting to see the Wall Dogs (he didn't even know they were out of prison), let alone their leader. But there he was, standing face-to-face with Van Del. The two bitter enemies started each other down for a moment, Captain Man glaring and Van Del smirking.

Worried by the smirk, Captain Man glanced around, only to see the other Wall Dogs slip out from various hiding places- Two Canz had been under a table, Spray Z was behind Jasper's pole, and so on. He didn't realize that Veronika wasn't among them, but had a gut feeling someone was missing. _Kid Danger,_ he thought immediately. The feeling didn't go away.

_Well, this is unfortunate. All alone with all these-_ Captain Man didn't quite finish his thought before Derek and Maddy shut the door behind him. Captain Man tensed up but was afraid to turn around. Even if he had, he would have been able to see Invisible Brad with them. He finally risked a glance behind them and saw Derek and Maddy. Despite all the time that had passed, he recognized them. You don't forget the faces of the people who tried to steal your sidekick's hot yogurt machine.

_Aw, geez, _thought Captain Man. _Eight Wall Dogs, two insane villains, and a couple of thieves. Twelve villains to fight off._ Just then, Jeff ran out from a side door, trying to smirk while he was breathing heavy. _Make that twelve villains and one inconvenience- wait. Jeff? He's here? I found him! _

In all the... let's call it _excitement_ about the "bomb" and now Jasper, Captain Man had pretty much forgotten about Jeff, but now he was sure he was in on all this, which explained how he escaped from prison. _Oh yeah, you are so busted. Right after I take everyone down…._

Captain Man knew he didn't have much time to celebrate capturing Jeff (more or less), but he didn't realize that Invisible Brad was about to land on him until he felt a huge weight pin him down.

"Wha-" Captain Man tried to look at who was on top of him, but couldn't see anyone. Had the whole graveyard incident not happened, it wouldn't have occurred to him. "Brad?"

"Nice to see you aga- oof!" Brad cut himself off with the _oof_ when Derek and Maddy sat down on top of him to help keep Captain Man pinned down. It was certainly working- he couldn't move any part of him torso, and by the time he tried moving his arms, the Wall Dogs had run over and pinned down all four of his limbs, two Wall Dogs per limb. Van Del, who had control of his right arm, was grinning maniacally.

Oh no. Captain Man found it hard to even wiggle. _Man, I should've brought some cops with me._ But that would've meant them thinking Jasper was Kid Danger. Still, though, he wasn't going to be able to fight everyone off by himself. _No, I can. I can do this. I just have to grab Jasper, run and get him to a safe place, and then call for backup-_

Dr. Minyak cut off Ray's thoughts by kneeling down in front of him and slapping him in the face. The impact stung for a moment, before it was as if he hadn't been hit. "I'm okay," said Captain Man, trying to sound confident. Sure, his cheek was okay, but he was being pinned down by eleven people, and _Oh, man, if Jeff tries to sit on me-_

"You may be okay now," said Dr. Minyak, cutting into Captain Man's thoughts again. "But you won't be."

Captain Man had little success in hiding his puzzled face. _What? I can't be hurt. I mean, yeah, Henry's gonna murder me if I don't get Jasper outta here, but he can't _physically_ hurt me._

Dr. Minyak snapped his fingers, and Nurse Cohort picked up something off a nearby desk. It was a small jar, but her hand was covering whatever was inside.

She passed the jar over Dr. Minyak, who kept it covered, at least until he shoved it in Captain Man's face.

When he saw what was in the jar, all of the blood drained from Captain Man's face. Dr. Minyak had a rush of satisfaction- as far as he was concerned, scaring Captain Man would only be the beginning. He wiggled the jar in front of his enemy's face, almost hitting him with it. "Look familiar?"

* * *

**What do you guys think was in the jar?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	34. Chapter 34

Captain Man never thought he'd see one again. They had all died or were taken to the Man Cave before they naturally passed away, or so he had figured. But there it was, right in front of his face.

Literally. Dr. Minyak slowly swung the jar in front of Captain Man's eyes, as if taunting him about it. Which, in a way, he was.

Staring directly at Captain Man was a Jolly Beetle. A fairly fat one, at that. It appeared to have been crying recently.

_Oh my God._ "Why are you waving a bug in my face, Minyak? What is that, a cockroach?" Captain Man snapped, trying to keep his cool.

Dr. Minyak scoffed. "Don't act like you don't know what this is. Before you make your brain explode trying to figure out how it survived, I found more." Dr. Minyak kept a grip on the jar and paced the floor, still monologuing. "I knew I couldn't risk being found out, so I took precautions. I only captured the one- " (as in, he could only find one) "-and didn't have a bulk of Japensese fish flakes delivered like I did last time." Dr. Minyak knew that it had to be Captain Man and Kid Danger who erased his memory, but he intended to act tough, like nothing and no one could ever defeat him. He studied his previous plan as to be certain he knew everything that happened (not that he ever figured out the part about Charlotte).

"I don't know what you're planning, Minyak," growled Captain Man, "but it's not going to work. Besides, one Jolly Beetle couldn't _possibly_ be enough to-"

As if on cue, Nurse Cohort passed Minyak a thin vial. He gripped tightly for fear of dropping it as he taunted Captain Man.

"On the contrary, it is," said Minyak evilly. "It's _just_ enough." Without warning, Dr. Minyak smashed the vial against Captain Man's face.

Maybe it was the impact, or the terror, or the location, or the knowledge that it's actually happening, he had Jolly Beetle tears being poured all over his face. Whatever the reason, Captain Man felt a burning sensation all across his face that spread down the rest of his body. _Oh no. _

Dr. Minyak reaches over and picked up one of the pieces of the vial. With no remorse, he slides the point across Captain Man's face, creating a cut. Within seconds it started bleeding.

"Mah-mah Man!" Jasper called- tried to call- to the superhero. Derek snapped at him to shut his trap and even slapped Captain Man, causing him to yelp. The Wall Dogs laughed, and Van Del started to bend one of Captain Man's fingers back.

_I can't believe this. These are the petty thieves we dealt with? These are the kids who tagged walls? How did they become so cruel? _

Dr. Minyak stood up, kicking a piece of broken glass out of the way. "Turn him around," he commanded.

After a brief struggle, they managed to turn Captain Man so he was facing Jasper, which hurt both of them on it own. Captain Man didn't like looking weak, particularly in front of fans that looked up to him, and Jasper undoubtedly felt like this whole thing was his fault.

It took a moment for Captain Man and Jasper to realize that everyone else was wearing ear plugs. Jasper saw this first, but Captain Man only noticed because someone jammed some into his ears (which hurt).

If he hadn't been wearing them, Captain Man would have recognized the music. If Henry, Charlotte or even Schwoz has already been there, they would have been ale to place it. But, being the only one without earplugs, only Jasper could actually hear it. He was also the only one who could hear the lyrics.

_Boy, boy, I know you're the Kid_

_And we have a job for ya,_

_Something you already did_

_I want you_

_To take it into your own hands_

_And beat the heck outta him, Captain Man!_

_He can get hurt now_

_(And it's about time.)_

_So make sure you listen to_

_My rhyme. _

_When we set you loose, here's the plan_

_I want you to fight_

_Captain Man_

_Don't stop, no breaks,_

_Except his bones_

_And whoever falls first_

_Won't get to see_

_What our crew has in store for thee_

_Holler!_

Even though he couldn't hear, Captain Man had a clear view of Jasper twitching. His face looked a little red about halfway through the song, but by the time it was over, he was still and looked normal- except for the red glow in his eyes.

Captain Man didn't- couldn't- hear Nurse Cohort wall over to Jeff and pass him a knife. "Would you like to do the honors? It's the least we could do after having to keep you cooped up all this time," she added sweetly.

Jeff giggled like a little girl (with a deep voice) and practically skips over to Jasper. By the time Captain Man realized what was happening, Jeff had sliced a knife through the ropes that had tied Jasper to the pole and he fell, landing in a Black Panther-like stance.

The Wall Dogs, Invisible Brad and Derek and Maddy bolted the second Jasper landed, leaving Captain Man lying on the floor. He used one hand to rio his earplugs put and held the other out in self-defense.

Jasper May have been hypnotized, but, unlike Charlotte, he wasn't given excessive strength. He attempted to push Captain Man's arm down in an unnatural way, but the superhero was able to resist.

A few of the Wall Dogs were chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Derek and Maddy were agreeing to a bet on who would win the fight. Nurse Cohort was trying to sweet-talk- and later threaten- Jeff into returning the knife, knowing good and well he could easily do something stupid. Brad and the other Van Del were already celebrating.

Minyak just watched. He was staring at the fight, unwilling to let his guard down. Especially since something seemed a little… _off_.

Dr. Minyak had fought Captain Man and Kid Danger off before. Something about the way they were fighting didn't seem right to him.

It made sense why. Obviously, Jasper did not have Kid Danger's physical strength, and the hypnotism made up for only some of his lack of experience.

And Captain Man was doing his best to defend his now-destructive self, but he knew he couldn't hurt Jasper. Henry would kill him.

* * *

Speaking of Henry- Kid Danger, rather- he was the first one to hear all the commotion. He swore under his breath and pressed his ear against the door.

"I can't make out anything," he said, "but I swear I keep hearing the word _fight_. Which is probably not the best sign."

"Let me hear." Veronika presses her own ear against the door. She was already frowning, but her frown grew deeper. "Sounds like the Wall Dogs are chanting 'fight' over and over. I heard them do _that_ several times over the years." She turned to the others. "Are you guys ready?"

"Not really," said Charlotte, "but I don't think we have time to wait."

Veronika nodded and then turned to Kid Danger. He stepped back, and lined up against the Wall with Charlotte and Schwoz. They turned the safety off on their weapons.

Veronika took a deep breath, swallowed and opened the door.

The door- which, by the way, was made of metal- swung open and slammed into the Wall. This was enough to distract everyone except Dr. Minyak, who was still watching the fight.

Nurse Cohort, Brad and Derek and Maddy had no idea who Veronika was. But Van Del and the Wall Dogs recognized her immediately. They stared at her, completely taken over by their shock.

_Get them out of here._ Veronika raised an eyebrow. "Miss me?"

It was enough to shake the Wall Dogs out of their shock and they started moving. Veronika bolted. She had already been a fair runner, and all the walking/running she had been doing lately helped.

Kid Danger, Charlotte and Schwoz watched Veronika run out of sight, the Wall Dogs hit on her tail. Even if they were still weary of her, Charlotte and Schwoz hoped just as much as Henry did that she got away.

"Alright," said Kid Danger as the Wall Dogs disappeared from their field of view. "Let's fight."

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	35. Chapter 35

_I should've known._ Captain Man wasn't as surprised as one would think he'd be to see his sidekick- his _real_ sidekick- show up. Show up to be a superhero and save his oldest friend? But of course. Show up with his best friend and Schwoz? Well, that part he didn't see coming.

But once he was able to pry Jasper off of him for a brief moment, Captain Man took in the situation. All the Wall Dogs were gone- he had no clue why, but if they had left, well, they could be dealt with later.

Kid Danger came. The real Kid Danger came to help him. And he brought backup.

_Okay, I can get down with th-_ No sooner had Captain Man almost caught his breath that Jasper took a running leap and pinned him to the ground. Captain Man wheezed- the blow hurt. Still hurt.

Dr. Minyak wasn't sure whether to celebrate that Captain Man and Kid Danger were still fighting or be surprised about the presence of another Kid _Wait a second. _

Slowly, the pieces came together in his mind. Maddy had mentioned that Kid Danger hadn't put up much of a fight, but they had figured he was just in shock. (Or, as Minyak preferred to believe, Kid Danger just couldn't fight without Captain Man by his side.) But suddenly there was a whole new explanation that hadn't occurred to them before- they kidnapped the wrong guy.

No sooner had Dr. Minyak turned to run that someone was staring him down, holding a laser to the forehead.

"Kid Danger?" Minyak- much to his dislike- could recognize Kid Danger (in his uniform) any day, but was feeling pretty unsure of himself at the moment.

He attempted to turn around and flee, but Kid Danger kicked his legs out from in front of him and sat on him, pinning him down. "I know you did something. Whatever you did to them," he said, keeping his voice as steady as possible, "undo it."

Dr. Minyak felt slightly triumphant. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Captain Man- or should I say _Ray Manchester_\- is vulnerable again. That other guy is working on destroying him."

Minyak realized about a second after Kid Danger did was that he should've have said anything. What he _didn't_ know was that Kid Danger knew exactly how to get Jasper back to normal. Captain Man… well, he'll have to think about that later.

Kid Danger glanced up. Schwoz was going after Derek and Maddy with the dart gun. After a few missed shots, he managed to get them both and knock them out. On the other side of the room, Charlotte had Jeff cornered and blasted him, knocking him unconscious as well. It took him a moment to realize that Nurse Cohort had been behind him and was now trapped under Jeff. Kid Danger smirked. He could tell Charlotte was rolling her eyes.

"I think your team is a little preoccupied at the moment," said Kid Danger, taunting him a bit.

It was Minyak's turn to laugh, though, when Kid Danger was suddenly lifted off of him. He rolled over onto his side to see- kind of- that Invisible Brad had grabbed Kid Danger in one last attempt to get Dr. Minyak out of there so that they could escape. Fortunately (for Kid Danger), Charlotte heard her best friend scream.

Her first instinct was to shoot, but she didn't want the blaster to hit Kid Danger. An idea popped into her head. She whispered to Schwoz, who had joined her after knocking out Derek and Maddy, to shoot Dr. Minyak with the dart gun from the other side.

Schwoz gave her a questioning look, but did as she said. He realized a split second after Minyak's eyes closed that Charlotte had snuck around to the other side of Brad, who was struggling to keep Kid Danger from escaping, and blast his feet. There was another blast, and the room was also the quiet.

Almost. The fight (if it could be called that) between Captain Man and Jasper was still going. At this point, though, it was more of a chase.

Kid Danger ran over to Jasper and, feeling a little guilty, body-slammed him to the floor. It was very fortunate that, unlike Charlotte, Jasper hadn't been given any physical strength. Even so, the determination inside his brain made him harder to fight.

"Charlotte!" Kid Danger called. "Get the- yeah-" A step ahead, as always, Charlotte grabbed the ropes Jasper had been in earlier and helped tie him up. Schwoz went to check on Captain Man, who was catching his breath.

Jasper thrashed around, but Charlotte's knots weren't going to come undone very easily. There was a beat of almost silence that was filled with heavy breathing.

"Minyak hypnotized him," said Henry after a beat. "He basically admitted it- this explains everything." Another beat. "We have to get him out of here. We can play the song backwards again, like we did for Charlotte."

"But we can't leave everyone here," said Captain Man, still breathing heavy a bit. "They know who we are. Those Wall Dogs must know who we are."

"I don't think they'll do anything. Not now, at least," said Charlotte. "We know they were here. It'd be too risky."

"Yeah," agreed Kid Danger. "For now, let's worry about Jasper and making sure these guys-" He jabbed his thumb towards all the unconscious villains. "-don't go anywhere."

So they did. Kid Danger and Charlotte use a dart to knock Jasper out- it's be easier and safer- and handcuff him to a couple poles in the Man Van. They then help Captain Man and Schwoz tie up the villains with some leftover rope and duct tape. Charlotte even found a couple cans of paint somewhere and dumped it on Invisible Brad.

"Henry, you stay here and call the cops," said Schwoz when they were done. "I'll stay in my car until they're gone. Charlotte, you and Captain Man take Jasper back to the Man Cave. Call me when you get there and I'll walk you through the procedure to get Jasper back."

No one argued with Schwoz's plan. Even Captain Man, who wanted to leave before anyone noticed he had a scratch on his face.

Of course, driving back with Charlotte made that impossible. Being observant, she had already spotted it.

"We have to do something about that," she said as he drove.

"Like what?" Captain Man felt pretty hopeless. He had already lost his indestructibility once, and hadn't thought to take the beetle before they left.

"Well, first that cut should get cleaned up. The last thing you need is any infection. Also, we did save some."

"Save what- oh!"

After the first time, Charlotte and Schwoz had sealed the left over solution that gave Ray his powers back, and it's been sitting in storage ever since. "Will it still work?"

"I don't know, it's pretty old. But it's been airtight sealed ever since, so no microbes or pathogens should have been able to grow in it or anything."

Captain Man got lost when the science terms started, but got the general idea. "I hope it does."

* * *

It would take the same amount of time for them to get back to the Man Cave and begin dragging Jasper- who was waking up- to the tubes as it did for the police to show up.

During that time, Kid Danger sat, keeping an eye on the villians, occasionally needing to knock one out again. It gave him a lot of time to think.

Most of his questions have been answered; about Jeff, about what had happened to him, about what happened to Jasper. There was still something bugging him, though.

_Veronika._ Where was she? Kid Danger glanced over his shoulder as if that would give him an answer. He hoped that she got away. He could tell, even though he only saw them for a moment, that she was right. The Wall Dogs hated her. They don't seem intent on letting her go. Not to mention, at least to Kid Danger, it always seemed like the good guy runner got caught by the bad guy chaser. Or the good guy chaser couldn't catch up to the bad guy runner. _Hopefully Veronika was able to bend the rules. _

There was one more thing about Veronika that was nagging at him: back in the RV, she had said that she had nothing to lose. What did she mean by that?

Kid Danger risked lying down before sitting back up. Did Veronika have a family? He had always figured the Wall Dogs were runaways, never really giving it much thought. Maybe she ran away, or was disowned, or maybe she doesn't have a family….

Kid Danger was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of a siren. The police had arrived.

* * *

**What do you guys think? Do you suspect Veronika has a family?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	36. Chapter 36

Ray had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu by the time Henry and Schwoz came down the elevator, per his instructions not to take the tubes. Here he was, not only having just trapped one of Henry's friends in the tube, but he was also destructible and had no certainty that he would get it back.

_And I could have been destroyed, had Henry not shown up._ But that didn't seem like the best time for a thank-you.

Henry had a bit of déjà vu, too. Plus, he really didn't like seeing his oldest friend trapped in a tube, having been musically brain warped. He hadn't liked seeing Charlotte trapped, either, but during that adventure he was a bit too scared of her to feel bad.

Now he was scared for everyone _and_ felt bad.

"It took forever to get him in there," said Ray to Schwoz, "but we finally managed it."

"You forgot to call when you got here," said Schwoz.

"Little preoccupied. And I told Charlotte to text you."

"Which I did."

"No you didn't."

"Check your phone."

"Oh."

"Can you guys argue about phone calls later?" Henry kind of snapped, getting impatient. "I'd like to get Jasper back."

"Right." Schwoz turned in the machine- at least Charlotte was able to find it before he and Henry got back- and began his search.

When Charlotte was brainwarped, Schwoz had to go through some memories to find the right one, but there seemed to be a lot more in Jasper's. Not even just that; they weren't in any sort of order.

"This is strange," said Schwoz. "Charlotte's memories weren't in order, either, but they were all recent. Jasper's memories seem to be… let's say, for lack of a better phrase, scrambled through time."

"Scrambled. Well that explains a lot," mumbled Ray.

"Yeah," said Henry in response to Schwoz, approaching the screen that Jasper's memories were on. He swiped a couple times. "This one is him finding out I'm Kid Danger… here's one from my tenth birthday party… and this one is from last week. That's strange." He turned to Schwoz. "But you can still find it, right?"

"Of course," said Schwoz. "You'll just have to give me a couple minutes."

It ended up taking ten, but finally, Schwoz let out a triumphant "I got it!"

Henry and Charlotte jumped from where they had sat down on the Man Couch, and Ray followed them.

"Henry, Charlotte, go stand by the tube. He might fall, like you did." Charlotte nods and heads to the Jasper's left, and Henry goes to the right.

"Alright," said Schwoz. "Here goes." He tapped the screen and Spray Z appeared.

"That's him, that's Spray Z," said Henry. "He must have been to one to brain warp Jasper. And me," he added, thinking of the night he had been brain warped. Brainwarped. _Is that one or two words?_

_Not now, Henry._ He shook his head as if to physically lose his thoughts and listened to the backwards song.

* * *

_!relloH_

_eeht rof erots ni sah werc ruo tahW_

_ees ot teg t'noW_

_tsrif sllaf reveohw dnA_

_senob sih tpecxE_

_,skaerb on ,pots t'noD_

_naM niatpaC_

_thgif ot uoy tnaw I_

_nalp eht s'ereh ,esool uoy tes ew nehW_

_.emyhr yM_

_ot netsil uoy erus ekam oS_

_).emit tuoba s'ti dnA(_

_won truh teg nac eH_

_!naM niatpaC ,mih attuo kceh eht taeb dnA_

_sdnah nwo ruoy otni ti ekat oT_

_uoy tnaw I_

_did ydaerla uoy gnihtemoS_

_,ay rof boj a evah ew dnA_

_diK eht er'uoy wonk I ,yob ,yoB_

* * *

"Well that was hard to listen to," said Ray. "Did it work?"

"Hold on," said Schwoz. He pressed the button to put the tube back up, and Henry and Charlotte stood ready to catch him or pin him down. Preferably the first one.

A few seconds after the tube went up, Jasper's eyes lost their redness. He reaches a hand up to rub them.

His feet shift, attempting to balance himself, but he falls nonetheless. Henry and Charlotte caught him- noting that he was heavier than Charlotte had been- and half-dragged him over to the Man Couch.

"What happened?" Jasper asked, leaving on the table with one arm and rubbing his temples with his other hand.

"It was Minyak," said Henry careful, not wanting to freak him out too much. "Are you okay?"

Jasper looked around. "Could you tell the room to stop spinning?"

"That'll wear off in a second,"'said Charlotte, having been there. "What's the last thing you remember at school, after we last saw you?"

"Uh… I, I was going to the bathroom, and I heard someone behind me. They took my phone and tossed it behind them."

"We tossed it in Charlotte's locker in case someone was tracking it," said Henry. "We'll give it back tomorrow."

"I'm not worried about my phone," said Jasper. "Well, I am, but I'm more worried about you guys. What happened? It feels late."

"It is late," said Henry. "Do you remember what Minyak did to you?"

Jasper but his lip. "Uh… the last thing I remember is hearing some song. And before that, Ray showed up and-"

"Okay, we don't need that part!" Ray cut in, not wanting to relive it.

"Which reminds me," said Charlotte, "I'll be right back." She half-jogged through the secret door and returned with a small jar full of blue liquid and a small box. The jar had been sealed in several layers of plastic, but the box didn't look like anything special.

"What's that?" Jasper asked, having not been around for that adventure.

"It's what we used to give Ray his powers back last time," said Charlotte, carefully setting the jar down on the table. "Don't touch it."

"Last time?"

"We'll explain that later," said Henry. "Will it still work?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know. It's been sealed since the day we made it, but I really can't say for sure."

"How did this happen, anyway?" Jasper asked. "I mean, Minyak broke the vial over Ray's face, but what was that liquid?"

"The vial was filled with Jolly Beetle tears, and that's a whole other story. But what happened has to be that the shards of glass were coated in the tears, thus allowing them to make openings in his epidermis." Everyone but Schwoz looked at her funny. "Cut his skin," she translated.

"Oh," said Jasper and Henry simultaneously.

"And since we don't know for sure if it'll work, I'm going to try something."

Charlotte first pulls a syringe and needle, which made Ray noticeably nervous. Then she produced two small cups. "Schwoz, you're going to inject Ray with some of this, like you've been doing for Henry, and Ray will drink some-"

"Gross."

"Sorry, dude. Henry, you dump some on his face like Minyak did, but without breaking anything. I'll spray him."

"What about me?" Jasper asked, still waiting for the room to quit spinning.

"Don't do anything stupid," said Charlotte. Any amount of pity she had for him had by then been shadowed by the general annoyance she gets from him.

"I might be able to manage that," said Hasper, half joking and half knowing he probably shouldn't stand up to do stupid things right then.

"Good," said Charlotte, carefully dividing up the Jolly Beetle liquid.

Jasper watched his friends/coworkers get ready. Schwoz found a vein to inject the liquid into Ray with, Ray himself held one of the small cups, Henry was standing behind him with the other, and Charlotte was holding her sprayer in position.

"Ready?" Charlotte asked.

"No," said Ray.

"Too bad. We need to hurry."

Without giving any warning, Schwoz gave Ray the shot. After wincing from the pain, Ray held the cup to his face and hesitated, but finally drank the liquid after Charlotte glared at him.

Henry gave him just enough time to swallow before jumping his portion on Ray's face, and Charlotte sprayed him. They exhausted their supply.

Ray made a few spitting noises, but apart from those, the room was quiet. Even Jasper didn't say anything. Everyone stared at Ray, dying to know if it had worked.

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	37. Chapter 37

Jasper was the first to speak. "Did it work?"

"Nothing's happening," said Ray. They could see panic creeping into his facial expressions. "Last time I did all that crazy stuff and now nothing is happening-"

"Wait," said Charlotte. "Hold still." She took a step closer and studied his face. "Henry, do you see that?"

"See what?" Henry couldn't see what she was talking about.

Charlotte pointed in Ray's face. "His eyes."

Henry took a step closer and studied his boss's eyes for a moment. His own eyes widened. "I see it," he said. "His eyes- that's the same color they turned last time. It's a lot more pale, but it's there, it must be working!"

"I think you're right," said Schwoz, looking at Ray's eyes. "It must be because it was given in separate doses, or because it's older, but yes, the solution appears to be working!"

"So that's good? His eyes looking weird is good?" Jasper asked.

Henry nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah."

"What about twitching?"

"His arm!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Yes, he was shaking a bunch last time- it must be working!"

Everyone cheered, the Captain himself most of all. "Schwoz, can we check my density levels?" Ray asked, his enthusiasm showing

"Technically, yes, but let's not," said Schwoz. "I don't want to accidentally stop the process somehow by damaging you while you're still going."

"I guess that makes sense. Kind of. Well, how much longer is this going to take?"

"I don't know," said Schwoz. "For now I think we'll just have to pass the time."

"And I know how to do that," said Charlotte. She half-jogged half-speed-walked toward the monitors and pulled up the city cameras. "Let's see if we can find anyone."

Unfortunately, they didn't. Not a Wall Dog in sight, or even Veronika. But this was also a good thing, because Ray thought to ask this: "Hey, why did the Vandel and the Wall Dogs scram?"

Henry, Charlotte and Schwoz all looked at each other. "We're not sure," said Charlotte. "Let's just be glad they did."

Ray shrugged. "You've got a point. And I think you're probably right about them not wanting to risk getting caught. I imagine they'll probably try to leave Swellview."

"If they haven't gotten out already," added Henry. _As long as Veronika is okay._

Talking about the Wall Dogs has shifted Henry's focus back to Veronika. He had no idea if she had gotten away, or if she was safe.

* * *

Hiding had to be the least logical option. If she kept running, she could lose them. Hiding meant they could find her and she'd be trapped.

But Veronika didn't think the Wall Dogs would find her where she was. She hadn't even realized this hiding place was so close by. She had forgotten it even existed.

Veronika had managed to duck into a corner after about a mile, where she ran up the stairs outside an apartment building. A fairly stupid move- if they cornered her she'd have no where to go but down. Veronika knew this, and silently cussed herself out, too out of breath to actually speak.

It was pure luck that the building she was going up had a next-door-neighbor that was only a few feet away. Veronika knew that her idea was crazy, insane, and uncertain- _but then again, so am I. _

Another stroke of luck: there happened to be a clothesline from the first building to the other. And, the ultimate proof that Lady Luck wanted Veronika to get away: the clothesline was, for some reason, made with the same material used in zip lines.

Hanging from the line and using her hands to get from one side to the other was even more terrifying than being chased had been, but finally, Veronika was on the roof.

Not just any roof, as it turns out. Veronika's eyes widened in fear when she realized where she was.

On the roof of the building she lived in with her parents. _Of course._

Veronika was sure that her parents had moved. _Probably out of Swelview, _she thought. _Or even out of the state. Maybe they had another kid, or divorced. For all I know, they could be dead._ The last one struck her like a tidal wave. _Oh my God, they could be dead. _

Veronika felt ready to lose her mind, but rubbed her eyes. _I don't care. If they really cared about me they would have found me. _

_And speaking of being found, or rather, not being found. _Veronika matched to the down-right corner of the roof, where there was a small opening that led to a five-by-five room only residents knew about. Why is was there was anybody's guess, but it was a pretty good hide-and-seem spot.

The room- if it can even be called that- wasn't heated or anything, but it provided shelter from the chilly breeze that was starting to roll in. Veronika wrapped her jacket around her middle as she slid down, thinking a blanket would be nice. But it would be too risky to leave; she could set out in the morning. If she waited long enough, she wouldn't run into anyone from the building.

Veronika make the final decision to stay the night for two reasons: one, the room was actually supposed to be off-limits in order to avoid someone hiding there and being mistaken for kidnapped (a long story), and two, the Wall Dogs didn't know where Veronika lived. They were all runaways and never talked about home. _That place is no more__,_ they would say. _Home is where other people where the mark._

Veronika curled up on the floor and tried to go to sleep, but something was bugging her. After a minute, she realized something: she had let the Wall Dogs chase her because she didn't have anything to lose. But then why did crossing from one building to another scare her so much?

Then it hit her: _I do have something to lose. I have a friend. I have Henry to lose._

* * *

Everyone was fairly hyper from the news that Ray seemed to be getting his power back, but Schwoz made everyone go home so no parents (_Or sisters_, thought Henry and Charlotte) would be suspicious. First thing in the morning, though, they rushed back as fast as they could.

Veronika hadn't been the only one to have trouble sleeping; Ray was kept awake half the night because he was still shaking, and he could feel something- it felt familiar. Plus, Cleo found his shaking limbs to be fun toys.

"So what are we gonna do to him?" Charlotte asked when everyone had arrived.

"Maybe we should start with something small," said Schwoz. "Last time was so nerve-wracking."

"Agreed," said Henry. "I'll be right back."

Henry ducked into the storage room and returned with a baseball bat.

"Okay," he said. "Let's do this."

"Oh man," said Ray. "I'm nervous."

"Me too." Without wanting, Henry brought the bat down hard on Ray's head. It snapped in half.

_It_ being the bat, not Ray's head. Ray's head was perfectly intact. "I- I'm okay!" He exclaimed happily. "I'm indestructible again!"

"Let's try something else," said Charlotte, getting excited. She called the Weapons Wall up and grabbed a blaster.

"Fire away!" Charlotte shot Ray in several places his face, his head, legs, arms, other locations- and he was undamaged.

"Ooh, Jasper!" Henry whispered something is his friend's ear. Giggling like a small child, Jasper grabbed the Covert Weiner and, without hesitation, shot Ray with it.

Ray shrieked, and for a minute everyone thought he had been hurt, but it was only because his shirt was ruined. But Ray himself- he was okay.

There was a brief time in which everyone repeated shot Ray with lasers of whacked his head, but eventually Charlotte realized they would be late for school, sit the three teens took off.

Once they were up and out, Ray and Schwoz collapsed on the Man Couch.

"That," said Ray, "was awesome."

"Yeah," said Schwoz. "I'm glad you're back, Captain Man."

Ray smiled. "Me too." Just then, Cleo meowed and hopped through the sprocket door before running to Ray. He picked her up and stroked her fur. "I think Cleo would like to see the outside world. What do you think?" She meowed as he scratched her under the chin. "I'll take that as a yes," said Ray. Then he frowned. "I'll take you later," he added, rubbing her behind the ears. "I have something I need to do first."

* * *

**Any guesses on what Ray has to do?**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	38. Chapter 38

Captain Man had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it had to suck to lose your memories. Your memories make you who you are, his dad had told him once, before going into the scientific explanation. But seeing as how they remained themselves after the first time, Captain Man was sure they wouldn't change too much. Although maybe the memory wiper hadn't been totally working that day, or something.

On the other hand, Captain Man was mad. Not mad- furious. They had deceived them, found out the Unthinkable and tried to destroy them using _Jasper_, of all people.

Captain Man shook his thoughts out of his head as he passed the security clearances. One of the guards eyed the memory wiper closely, as if afraid he would be shot with it.

Captain Man really wanted to spit in Dr. Minyak's face when he arrived at his enemy's cell, but refrained. Disrespect, he had learned, would not get him very far with Minyak.

"So," said Captain Man, almost conversationally, once Minyak finally looked at him. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

"I don't suppose I have much of a choice," said Minyak, eyeing the memory wiper like the guard had. He fiddled with the handcuffs he had on his ankle that kept him from leaving the cot. "I suppose you're going to wipe my memory, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. But I'd really like to know what you people did to us. Kid Danger wants to know, too. And everyone else, including the poor, defenseless, pathetic boy you used to try to kill me." Dr. Minyak opened his mouth to speak, but Ray cut him off. "And if you won't tell me, I'm sure someone else will. Nurse Cohort thinks I'm handsome, which I am, so she'll be happy to give information. Or one of those troublemakers you must have recruited will be glad to trade information for fewer years in the slammer."

Dr. Minyak glared at his enemy. "Fine. First of all, I didn't realize that boy meant nothing to you. We thought that boy was Kid Danger." Minyak started talking to the floor. "That bomb we sent wasn't really a bomb. It was just a camera that made ticking noises. The frame we saw of the elevator, we saw that boy. He was the only one we could see clearly."

"And you thought he was Kid Danger."

Dr. Minyak nodded. "We noticed he didn't put up much of a fight, but everyone figured he was in shock. I, personally, figured he just couldn't fight without Captain Man by his side."

The superhero glared at him. "And that night Kid Danger- the _real_ Kid Danger- attacked me."

"Yes, that was us. We temporarily musically brain warped him- yes, him too, we really like that method- until it was time to dump him."

"Why? Why did you do that? Kid Danger is a great fighter, as you know, but he couldn't have hurt me."

Dr. Minyak shifted his gaze from the floor to his fist. "It was part of my original plan. We wanted to scare you, and then threaten you. But plans change." He didn't elaborate on that last part. "We weren't originally going to look into who you are. I didn't want to take that risk because I was afraid _this_ would happen."

"As well you should've been. What else?"

"That's all I can think of."

"Okay then, who else?"

Dr. Minyak fidgeted with fingers. "Nurse Cohort and myself, of course. Brad. Derek and Maddy. All of the Wall Dogs, although I believe they mentioned someone who betrayed them." Captain Man decided not to press that. "Even Jeff. Jeff, of all people-" Dr. Minyak suddenly looked Captain Man directly in the eyes. "Do you know what all these people have in common, _Ray_?"

"Don't use that name like a weapon against me-"

"We all hate you! You erased our memories. You threw the Wall Dogs and Derek and Maddy in jail. You wouldn't give Brad the one thing he really wanted, to be your sidekick. You keep arresting Jeff for the smallest things, and, oh yes, YOU SHOT ME UP INTO SPACE! I COULD HAVE DIED HAD I NOT FALLEN OUT OF THE CHAIR INTO A TREE! I COULD HAVE-" Dr. Minyak lunged at Captain Man, who jumped back. Minyak hit the floor, his ankle still cuffed to the cot.

"Sorry about this, Minyak," said Captain Man, pointing the memory wiper at his enemy. "But you're clearly a danger to my safety." He pulled the trigger. The beams shot out, and Dr. Minyak passed out on his cot.

"Actually, I'm not sorry," said Captain Man. "And, oh yeah, I'm indestructible again." He left the cell to move on and interrogate Nurse Cohort.

Nurse Cohort gave him the same story. "I managed to outrun the little brats," she said when asked about the day with the balloons. "You're handsome."

Captain Man smiled. "Yes I am." He wiped her memory, an action he would repeat four more times.

* * *

"Derek and Maddy were pretty unhappy, obviously," said Ray. "I don't blame them."

He was sitting on the Man Couch with Schwoz, waiting for Henry, Charlotte and Jasper to arrive. Cleo was napping at his feet. Well, more like _on_ his feet.

"I mean, they just got out of prison and not they're back in. Really, they're just stupid kids. I don't care if they're technically adults now." Ray took a sip of his soda. "They did the whole Spin and Win routine on their own, but that was mostly out of anger. So was agreeing to join Dr. Minyak."

"Yeah," agreed Schwoz. "Maybe now, they'll be different people. Since they don't remember anything, and all."

"Maybe." Cleo woke up and jumped onto Ray's lap, and he automatically started to pet her. "What about the others?" Schwoz asked.

"Invisible Brad was still covered in paint, so at least I knew he was there. Plus, it made aiming easy." He took another sip. "Him and Minyak I had the easiest time memory-wiping. Minyak tried to have Jasper kill me, and Henry could've died I'd we had stayed in that casket much longer." Ray shuddered. He _hated_ thinking about that. He had to try so hard not to let his fear for his sidekick's life show. "Honestly, I think we should've erased Brad's memory when we had the chance."

"I have to agree."

"Jeff was last. Honestly, he such a low threat that the only reason I was able to justify wiping _his_ brain was because he knew who I was." Ray rolls his eyes. "I'm _hoping_ he'll become a less stupid person who doesn't go around committing petty crimes, but we'll see."

"Yeah," said Schwoz. "I got sick of _him_ a _long_ time ago."

"You and me both." A sudden scream made them both jump, and Cleo clawed Ray's legs in surprise. The elevator doors opened to reveal Henry and Charlotte. Behind them was Jasper, who had fallen to the floor. He wasn't quite used to the elevator yet.

"Hey guys," said Ray, picking up Cleo. "I'm taking Cleo in a walk. Who wants to come?"

"Do cats go on walks?" Charlotte asked, looking at her.

"Sure, why not," said Henry. "I could use a break."

"I guess so," said Charlotte. She gave Henry a quick look that clearly stated _I need to talk to you._

Henry glanced over at Jasper, who had sat down on the Man Couch. He was asleep. "He fell asleep three times today," said Henry. "Probably exhausted from last night."

"I don't even wanna think about that," said Ray. "I erased five- no, six- memories today, and I think I deserve a day off."

"Crime doesn't take the day off," said Henry, using a phrase Ray told him all the time.

"Okay, enough time off to take my cat for a walk and relax. As much as a superhero can, anyway," said Ray. He put Cleo's leash on and hit the elevator button. "You staying here, Schwoz?"

"Yeah, I'll let you know if anything happens."

"Good." The elevator door opened, and Ray, Cleo, Henry and Charlotte walked in. The door closed, and they shot up to Junk N' Stuff.

* * *

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	39. Chapter 39

"Ray, last I checked, cats don't go on walks. With a leash."

"Yeah, well, last I checked, uh… ooh, I am _your_ boss, so _you _don't tell me what to do, mister!"

Henry rolled his eyes. Charlotte rolled hers, too. Ray ignored them, and continued walking Cleo even after they stopped.

"So," said Charlotte. "What are we gonna tell Piper?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we made up the whole dating story to use as an excuse because of Minyak and them, but now that our little adventure is over, I was thinking we kill the lie."

Henry shrugged. "I guess so. Better end the fake relationship now than have it end up in the open. We can come up with other excuses."

"Agreed," said Charlotte. They did quick first bump before Charlotte nodded behind Henry. "Speaking of relationships- fake or not- I think someone wants to see you." Henry turned around. Standing there, maybe ten, fifteen feet away, was Veronika.

Charlotte politely retreated, saying something about getting a corn dog. Henry had to resist the urge to run to Veronika.

And Veronika had to resist that same urge, only, when she got to him, she immediately went in for a hug.

Henry tried not to stiffen. Hugs from Veronika- not something he was used to.

He didn't mention it and settled for saying, "I'm glad you got away."

Veronika pulled away and smiled. "Me too. How did it go? After I left?"

Henry shrugged. "Not so bad. We got everyone else, everyone's alive, and the only person I was worried about was you."

"Yeah." Veronika have a nervous laugh.

"Which, uh, reminds me," said Henry slowly. He awkwardly motions to the slide, and they sit. Veronika sat right on the edge, while Henry sat on the wood chips. "I wanted to ask about something. So, um, yesterday, as we were driving to rescue Ray and Jasper, and I asked if you were sure, and you said you had nothing to lose. I, um, well, I wanted to-"

"I know what you're trying to say," said Veronika. "I said that because I don't. At least, I thought I didn't." She scoots a little bit, closer to the very edge of the slide. "I realized, as I was hiding from the Wall Dogs, I do have something to lose. I have a friend. I have you. And I have my family, I just have to find them. And I can even try to find my old best friend from when I was little, although she had to move just before middle school. I do have people in my life that I want. It just took me awhile to realize it."

Henry wasn't sure how to respond to all that. He decided to go with, "Well… I'm glad you realized that. I don't want anything to happen to you, Veronika. I'm sure your parents don't, either. I mean, my parents barely notice where I am half the time- they don't know who I am- but I know they wouldn't want anything bad to happen to me…. Veronika? Are you okay?"

Veronika had started staring off into space. Henry followed her gaze to see that she wasn't staring at nothing at all.

A woman was sitting on a bench, a hundred feet away or so. A man was sitting next to her. Both of them looked distressed.

Henry noticed something else. Both of the adults had the same frizzy hair Veronika did, and the woman had the same eyes. He could tell because all of a sudden the woman looked up and started staring in their direction.

Veronika noticed, too. Henry swore he thought to heard Veronika say "Mommy" before jumping off the slide.

"'Mommy'?" Henry echoed before following her.

It wasn't until Veronika was hugging the strangers that it finally clicked: these are her parents.

"Oh," said Henry under his breath. He decided to stay back, but Veronika mentioned him over.

"...been looking for you ever since then," Henry heard the woman- Veronika's mom- say. "Have you been out here this whole time?"

Veronika gave a half-shrug. "Not exactly. I'll… I'll explain that part later. Mom, Dad-" All three of them were very, very happy to hear those words. "-this is my friend Henry. I ran into him a few days ago, and he's been helping me out."

Henry half-raised a hand, and without warning, Veronika's mom trapped him in a hug. "Oh, _thank you_! We're so grateful- what was your name again, sweetie? Veronika, it was, oh, don't tell me, um… I think you said Herbert?" Henry and Veronika had to stifle their laughter, which, oh yeah, took a _lot_ of effort. "Henry," he corrected her. "But you were close. And it was no big deal, I just pointed her in the direction of a couple places she could go for food and stuff."

"It _is_ a big deal," said Veronika's dad. "You really helped her out."

"And I wouldn't have been in the park long enough for spot you guys had he not been here," Veronika added, which was actually true. She only went to the park to try and find him.

"Oh, Henry!" Veronika's mom trapped him in a hug again. "Thank you so much!"

"Jen, tell her about you-know-who."

"You-know- oh, right!" Jen related Henry and looked back at Veronika. "Sweetie, your remember Ms. Neil, right? In the apartment above us?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she had to move recently, and they wouldn't allow her to take her cat with her. So your dad and I-"

"We have a cat?" Veronika cut in, excited.

"Well, yes, but she went missing recently. Only a few days ago, and we've been looking for her, too."

"What does she look like?"

"Her fur is mostly black, and it has a few brown streaks. Also, there's a circle of white around her right eye."

"Uh… you mean like that?" Henry pointed across the park, where Ray was walking Cleo.

Jen gasped. "I- I think that's her, Mike!"

Mike squinted. "I think you're right!"

_This isn't going to go over well,_ thought Henry as the four of them jogged over to Ray and Cleo.

"Oh, that _is_ her!" Jen exclaimed when they arrived, squatting so Cleo could meow and lick her. Mike and Veronika got down next to her.

"Uh… what's going on?" Ray asked, unsure why three complete strangers have just run up to "his" cat.

"Ray, that cat belongs to this family," said Henry softly. "She's not a stray. And she's not yours."

Ray looked shocked. Sensing a fit, Henry put one hand on Ray's arm.

Surprisingly, Ray silently handed the leash over to Jen, who, if not earlier, was sobbing her eyes out by this point. "Oh, you took care of her! Thank you so much!" She then trapped Ray in a hug. Jen was clearly a big hugger.

Needless to say, Ray was really unhappy, but he tried not to show it too much after Henry gave him a warning look. "Uh, you're welcome," said Ray awkwardly. "So, uh, what's her name?"

"Oh, our neighbor's grand-niece named her," said Jen. "Her name is Kid Danger." Henry and Ray snorted almost uncontrollably, and Veronika stifled a laugh. "Yes, it's goofy, I know. We'd like to change it, though."

"What's wrong with 'Kid Danger'?" Henry asked, barely able to control his laughter.

"Nothing, it just doesn't fit her. We were picking out a name just before she disappeared and were about to settle on Cleo."

"Well, that seems to fit," said Ray, proud he had at least named her right. He bent down to scratch Cleo under her ears, and Henry swore he looked like he was about to cry. "I um, I gotta go to work. I'm about to be late. Bye, Cleo." Ray have her one last scratch behind the ear before leaving and heading for his van. Cleo actually looked a bit sad to see him go, but eagerly jumped up into Jen's arms.

"Well," said Henry. "I guess I'll leave you guys alone." He started to stand, but Jen said, "Wait!" and began digging into her purse.

"Veronika," said Mike softly. "We, um, we'll, we're really glad to have found you, but, um…."

"We can't stay here," said Jen. "It's a long story, and it's not your fault in any way, but we had to promise that as soon as you were found safe we'd leave Swellview."

"Oh," said Veronika softly. "Like, to Bordertown?"

"Um… no. We have to move to Connecticut."

"Connecticut?" Veronika quietly exclaimed. "That's on the other side-"

"The other side of the country, we know." Jen went bag to digging in her purse for a moment before pulling out her cell phone. "Veronika, we'll buy you a phone once we get there, but for now, you can use mine if you want to talk to Henry." She handed her phone over to him.

Henry and Veronika exchanged a look. They were just starting to get to know each other, and now….

Henry punched his number into Jen's phone and handed it back to her. "Call me when you can, okay?" They exchanged a hug.

Before he knew it, Veronika and her parents were gone. Charlotte walked up behind him.

"Did you see all that?" Henry asked, not tearing his gaze away from where Veronika and her parents were just a second ago with Cleo.

"I saw. I'm so sorry about that, Hen," she said, putting a hand on her shoulder, and she really meant it.

"Yeah," said Henry. "But it's okay. She found her family." Charlotte could tell that Henry was trying to cover up how sad he was, but before she could say anything, he said, "Let's go; Ray's waiting for us."

* * *

**Okay. So I have looked at my outline, and it looks like next week is going to be the last chapter. It seems to me like I'm slamming the breaks on the story here, but maybe thats just me.**

**Ciao, and Happy Reading!**


	40. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Okay, how about the Wonder Pets?"

"First of all, I sincerely doubt any of us have watched that show since kindergarten. Well, maybe you have."

Henry, Charlotte and Jasper hadn't had any time lately to sit down and plan for Halloween, but now that their adventure with Dr. Minyak's team of villians was over, they decided to do some normal-people stuff, starting with deciding what to go as for Halloween.

"And besides," Charlotte added, "we tried that back in first grade, and you and Henry couldn't agree on who would be who."

"Only because you called being Linny."

"Okay, yes, but to be fair, I'm smarter than both of you, so of course I would be the leader. Any other ideas?"

"We could go as Captain Man and Kid Danger," said Jasper jokingly.

"Um, no," said Henry. "You being Kid Danger caused all sorts of problems, and I would be too recognizable. Besides, that's only too people." Henry thought for a second. "How about funny exterminators from a very famous movie?"

Charlotte looks at the paper that they planned to use for writing down costume ideas. "Seeing as how that's our only decent idea, funny exterminators from a very famous movie it is."

"Personally," said Jasper, standing up from the couch, "I liked Wonder Pets." He opens the door and steps out. "If you two change your minds, I call dibs on Linny!" He closed the door before they could say anything and left.

"We are so not doing Wonder Pets," said Henry.

"Agreed," said Charlotte, as someone came down the stairs.

"Oh, hi, _Charlotte_," said Piper, purposely not talking to her brother. "How are you doing since that _jerk_ dumped you?"

"I didn't _dump_ her," said Henry defensively. Which was true, since they weren't actually dating in the first place. "We agreed it wasn't going to work out."

After Veronika left, Henry and Charlotte told Piper just that (the lie about their relationship not working out, not about Veronika), but what Piper heard was "Your jerkface brother dumped me."

"Henry's right, Piper," said Charlotte. "That's exactly what we told you."

Piper responded by glaring at her brother before hugging Charlotte and saying, "His loss. He doesn't deserve you." She releases her friend and walks out the front door, probably to go to a friend's party or something.

"Good to know she'll be like _that_ for a while," said Henry.

"Yeah, but look on the bright side. She won't pay enough attention to you to figure out that you're, you know, you." Henry knew what she meant- him being Kid Danger. "Although it's not like she's ever gonna find out, anyway."

"Yeah," Henry agreed.

"Speaking of people finding out, how's Veronika doing?"

Henry had checked up on Veronika a few times, just to see how she was doing. And, yes, it was partially because he kind of missed her. "She's doing good," said Henry, in response to Charlotte's question. "She's gone back to school and is adjusting to that really well, and no one there knows she was a Wall Dog or the Mad Granny, so it's a great fresh start for her. And Cleo's doing good, too. I promised Ray I'd ask."

"That's good," said Charlotte. About Veronika, not Ray missing Cleo. "And how are _you_ holding up?"

"What?"

"Oh, come on, Henry," said Charlotte, rolling her eyes. "I could tell you were worried about her. Although you don't have a crush on her anymore, right?"

"Not anymore," said Henry. "I don't really go for girls who whack people with umbrellas. Although I don't think she'd do that anymore."

"You're probably right," said Charlotte.

"Yeah. She's not the same girl I had a crush on back then," he added. "Even if she is a better person now."

"Right, so you can go back to your other girls, Bianca and Chole. Which one of them came first again?" She was just teasing him, being his best friend, but he answered anyway.

"Neither, actually," said Henry. "I didn't like either of them until middle school, and back in elementary school I had a crush on you." Charlotte raised her eyebrows, and Henry slapped his hands over his mouth and stood up, pacing toward the kitchen and back again. "Oh, God, I did not just say that. _I did not just say that._"

Charlotte could see his face turning red, and her own face was a bit warm. She wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Oh."

"Shoot, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that," said Henry, sitting back down. "I just made things awkward, didn't I?"

"Little bit," said Charlotte, her voice a bit higher than usual. They sat in silence for about two minutes before Charlotte finally changed the subject. "You know, we just became aware of everything that was being plotted against us, and suddenly it's over."

"It does seem sudden," agreed Henry, glad for the subject change. He started counting on his fingers. "Jeff escaped, Minyak has gathered an army beneath our noses, Jasper almost destroyed Ray, I had to get treated for Green Fingers-"

"And that's all over now," said Charlotte. "You got your last injection, and remember what Schwoz said: there's a .001 percent chance it'll come back for you, and a .00001 percent chance any of the rest of us will get it again. And all the villains had their brains wiped."

"Minyak and Cohort bounced back after that the first time," Henry pointed out, "and we have no idea where the Wall Dogs are."

Charlotte wasn't sure what to say. He was right, and reminding him of their agreement- that the Wall Dogs probably wouldn't want to do something and risk getting caught- wasn't going to make him any less afraid.

The idea of someone spilling the secret was something they already had to live with, but now the threat was even greater.

"I guess," said Charlotte, "that our adventure isn't over yet. Maybe our adventure started the day you went to Junk N' Stuff and came out as a superhero sidekick. Maybe it'll never end."

Henry shrugged in response. "I guess you're right." Then: "No- you are right. How about this." He stood up. "Let's agree to not stress ourselves out very much about it." He stuck out his hand.

Grinning, Charlotte stood up and shook it. "Agreed." They sat back down. "For now, let's focus on Halloween. _Then_ we can worry about work."

And their adventure continues.

* * *

**I can't believe it's over. I swear, this story turned out so differently than I had originally imagined it. I really hope everyone enjoyed the story, and thanks for all the reviews!**

**So... normally this would be the part where I reveal the release date of my next story. But... I have decided to take some time off from Fanfiction. Much as it breaks my heart to do so, I'm getting closer and closer to graduation, and with college auditions, and later college, coming up, I've decided that Fanfiction is something I'll have to live without for now.**

**I promise this is not an impulse decision- I really don't want to leave. I came across my notes that have fanfic ideas not too long ago and was really sad that I don't get to choose one right now- I still am. I also promise that I'm not going to disappear completely- I'll still going to read and write reviews when I have time, and maybe I'll finally get around to changing my profile picture (yeah, we'll see).**

**But for real, I promise I'm not going to completely forget about Fanfiction. (I don't think I could if I tried!)**

**I don't have any definite plans right now, but I'm hoping that I'll start writing fanfics again, for Henry Danger or something else.**

**Keep writing, y'all.**

**Ciao.**


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